The Saviors Series
by Riley Masters
Summary: Follow the adventures of Taylor, Dakota, and Zane as they explore the world of FusionFall, and face the dangers within. Along the way, they make worldwide friendships that just might stand the distance. / FINAL VERSION
1. Prologue: It's a Blind Start

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **So... I rewrote and finished _The Saviors Series_. I mean, I really finished it. I hated having loose ends, so I took a year or so to edit the entire story, and write some new content.

Every Monday (or Tuesday, depending on my school schedule), I'll be posting a new chapter.

For old readers returning, I want to make it clear that most of the changes are small, word choice being one example. Most of the series is similar to the original version started in January 2009, but there are a few differences. Names of some miscellaneous characters for one.

To new readers, I hope you enjoy the product of boredom, and a mild concussion caused by my sister's tenth grade English notebook (i.e. she threw it at me).

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (01/03/12)

* * *

><p><strong>It's a Blind Start…<strong>

Once in a while I wish I wasn't blind.

No, not in real life. In the game. Fusion Fall.

Ten minutes in the past, I got attacked. My screen blanked out. My laptop was still on, but the screen showed nothing. I could hear static from somewhere.

The next thing I knew, I was on my hands and knees. I could feel the grass and the wind. My sister was screaming my name into my ear. Not Taylor, my real name. Gaia. My character's name.

I tilted my head left and right, trying to dislodge whatever was covering my eyes.

"Gaia? Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"If you take whatever is on my head off, I'll tell you," I growled, annoyed with her constant pestering and her inability to use common sense.

"Um... Sis… There's nothing on your head."

And with five words, my life spiraled.

* * *

><p>"Taylor! Let's play!"<p>

"Go away Dakota!" I slammed the door in my dear sister's face.

Pound. Pound. "Come on Taylor! You said we could!"

"No! Leave me alone!" I hear her stomp down the stairs, angry I wouldn't play with her.

But who would, after what we went through. I found out later, when we logged out, that I was actually in the game. No joke. Dakota was stoked, but I wasn't. Why would I be? I couldn't see. At all. Not in the game.

Dakota told me that, while in the middle of my rant about how my life sucked and I was dead _way _too early – I said the words "log out." I vanished, reappearing in front of the laptop, thinking that it was just a bad dream. The computer was working fine, I could see, everything was normal. Then she came in, and claimed that it actually happened. That led to me swearing to never play Fusion Fall again, against my promise. And our argument.

I sat on my window seat, looking outside at my wonderful, normal, and completely boring neighborhood. Dakota was sitting on the old swing on the tree out front, looking pretty bummed. _Maybe I should apologize, _I thought. Then I shook my head.

"She's fourteen years old. She needs to grow up."

I turned away from the window with a groan. Even if I was mad, I couldn't stay mad at my little sister for long.

_Maybe for five minutes…_

I slipped downstairs and fired up my laptop just as Dakota walked back inside.

"You're playing? Cool! Let me see!"

"I haven't even logged in-"

And as I said that, I vanished.

* * *

><p>Dakota barely contained her scream. <em>Oh my God! She actually went inside the game! It's real! How cool is that!<em>

The younger sister looked at the screen, watching as it reset itself. "I wonder… If I copy her, will I appear in the game?"

She logged on to the site and everything, but it didn't pull her into the game.

"The hell? No fair! Why can Taylor go play the game and I can only log on this-"

With a gasp, she disappeared.

* * *

><p>"-Far?"<p>

Thunk.

"Bella, I love you sister dear, but if you don't get off me this instant, I will not hesitate to throw you to Fuse himself!"

With a shove, I pushed her off of me. Of all the places to appear, why did it have to be above me?

"Gaia? Is that you? Oh my God! This is way cool! I mean, look at all the pretty colors-"

"Dear God she's channeling Dee Dee…"

"-and all the cool people-"

"Shoot me now…"

"-and even the cute little monsters!"

"Take a breath!"

"I hate you Gaia."

"I know. Love you too."

I heard Dakota take a few steps around, getting a feel for her digital body. I stood there, just listening to the sounds underneath the music that seemed to be playing nonstop from the background.

"Oh sis! Look at the monkey!"

"Bella, I would love to, but I can't. I'm blind here, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Right. Um... well I'm going exploring! I'll see you later!"

I turned my head in her direction. She was leaving?

"Wait! Bella! At least tell me where I am!"

Silence. Just great.

"Welcome to Sector V! I'm Numbuh Two. Need a mission?

_Just my luck._

* * *

><p>Dakota jumped from the KND tree house, completely psyched to be really there. <em>This is a dream come true. I'm in a game, with my wonderful sister…<em>

Dakota stumbled in her musing. "Oh. Crap. Gaia!" She turned and ran back to the tree house.

* * *

><p>"Hi! Need a mission? Hi! Need a mission? Hi! Need a mission?"<p>

"Bella! Where are you!"


	2. Interlude 01: A Sister's Remorse

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:** Instead of a new chapter, every once in a while I'm going to post a interlude chapter. Usually I wrote them to expand a scene or, as is the case here, get into another character's head.

This first one was posted in my high school's literary magazine, billed as fanfiction, with a shameless plug to boot. It was also the first (and thus far _only_) fanfiction to be published in the magazine. The exposure was great.

Oh, and it annoyed Kit, which is always a plus. XD

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (01/09/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Interlude: A Sister's Remorse<strong>

I think playing this game was a bad idea.

Scratch that. A _horrible_ idea.

Indescribably horrible.

Taylor will never forgive me for this.

* * *

><p>All I wanted to do was play a game with Taylor, just for once. Instead, I nearly get her killed.<p>

Watching those monsters attack her scarred me for life. I thought for sure she was okay. It's just an avatar, right? She'll just get knocked out and end up back at the Resurrect 'Um.

That didn't happen. She collapsed to her knees, her hands touching her face in shock. She just sat there, ignoring my screams. Slowly she shifted her head.

"Gaia?" I whispered, suddenly afraid for her. "Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?" I hoped that saying the old saying Mom used to say would knock her back into reality. Or at least she'd shout from her room.

"If you take whatever is on my head off, I'll tell you!" She growled, making me jump. I looked at her face. Scars covered her avatar's digital eyes and forehead, making it nearly impossible to focus anywhere else.

I gulped, knowing this would not end well. "Um… Sis… There's nothing on your head."

She lifted her head and stared into nothingness. "What?" She gasped, tears falling from her eyes. I didn't think it was possible that an avatar could cry.

Suddenly, she started screaming. Screaming that it wasn't fair. That her life was cursed. That she was dead way too early. That she wished she had never logged on and that she wanted to log out.

She vanished. I was left standing like an idiot, on top of a floating tree house, staring at an empty patch of grass.

* * *

><p>Understandably, Taylor didn't want to play again. I just wish she would trust me that it would be fine!<p>

When she slammed the door in my face, I knew I had two choices. Sit outside her door and scream at her, so that she might actually play the game with me, or just go away and sulk. As much fun as screaming might be, I took option two.

I ran outside and sat on my old tire swing, crying. I just wanted to play a stupid game with her. I didn't mean for her to get hurt! I never wanted this to happen to her!

For a few minutes, I just sat there, staring at the sky, silently asking for my sister's forgiveness. After calming down, I ran back inside, set on apologizing to Taylor. She deserved that much.

When I threw open her door, I saw her leaning over her laptop, just about to log in.

"You're playing?" I was shocked. Didn't she just say ten minutes ago that she'd never play that game again? I had to grin through my confusion. "Cool. Let me see."

She shook her head. "I haven't even logged in-"

And once again, my sister vanished on me. I had to bite my lip to keep in my scream.

"You're kidding me. She actually went inside the game. She actually in a computer."

I poked the screen. "If she can do it, I could do it too. Besides, she'll need saving," I told myself as I signed in. Nothing happened.

I growled. "You have got to be kidding me. Why can't I log on-"

I felt my own body vanish. I was finally inside the game.

I was inside FusionFall.


	3. Chapter 01: Battle for the Cul de Sac

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:** Alright, I'm sick right now, and under a pile of homework. Any mistakes are mine. (And word of the wise: don't take psychology and sociology in the same semester, unless you don't like sleep... *headdesk*)

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (01/16/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Battle for the Cul-de-Sac, Take One<strong>

Two days later saw Dakota playing suck up. I ranted for over an hour –in game, of course- about how she should have never left me.

"Taylor, I'm so sorry!" Dakota cried for the hundredth time today. Of course, her timing couldn't have been worse. We were in the school hallway. Not the best place for her to be begging for the forgiveness I had already given her.

"I'm _fine_'Kota. Stop apologizing already. It's not like monsters could attack the tree house or the Cul-de-Sac."

"But what if you had left? And besides, who knows if we'll actually go to a Resurrect 'Um if we get killed?"

I nodded to myself. I was already terrified of playing again. What if we just ceased to exist in the real world if we died in the game? It would destroy dad, and he was just beginning to get over – okay, never mind. I really don't want to think about that it.

Five precious minutes of silence later, Dakota was at it again.

"Taylor, will you ever forgive me?"

Great. This is shaping up to be such a wonderful day.

* * *

><p>I was in Web Design later when my cell buzzed in my pocket.<p>

_Tay! Something's happening at the Eds'! We gotta help! I'm going in. I'll meet you at the KND Tree house in Sector V._

I gulped and glanced around. No one was paying any attention, and the teacher had bailed long ago. I looked at the two girls next to me – the only two would raise any objection if I were to vanish. They, thankfully, were paying more attention to their studies then to me. Good.

"Here I go. God only knows I'm gonna regret this."

With one last glance to the class, I pressed enter and logged in.

* * *

><p>"Sis! You're here!"<p>

I turned to the source of the voice. Dakota's voice.

"Come on. I scouted this out. Looks like a virus has taken over a slew of monsters. They're matching on the Cul-de-Sac right now!"

"Great," I said, nodding in her direction. "Show me the way, but don't you dare hold my hand."

"Fine…"

* * *

><p>So getting to the Cul-de-Sac was a lot of fun. I mean, who wouldn't want to ride a flying monkey over an army of monsters while blind. Talk about nerve-racking…<p>

Dakota and I landed in a swarm of people, all trying to stop the monsters from entering the cardboard castle. Dakota grabbed my hand and pulled me behind a house.

"You okay?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Are you ready for this, Bella?"

"Yep! I just hope you are. Get out of the game if it gets to be too much."

"Right."

I heard Dakota take a few steps back, and then, to my surprise, jumped forward and hugged me. _She hasn't done this for years…_

"Um… 'Kota? Why are you hugging me?"

"I just want you to know that I love you, sis. I'll watch your back out there. I promise."

"Thanks Dakota."

And with those final parting words, we ran for the gates.

* * *

><p>Outside was a jungle. Monsters were attacking everywhere. I could hear people being killed left and right.<p>

I was firing in random directions; Dakota long ago had been swept away from me. I heard a cry; the girl next to me was gone. I gulped.

I turned my head towards the monster that had killed the girl. I blinked. _Why is it that I can see a big green blob in my otherwise pitch black vision?_

"Cool." I opened fire, finally having decent accuracy.

* * *

><p>Two hours. That's how long the battle went before we sent the monsters packing.<p>

I didn't even realize the time as I sat on the ground, catching my breath. No more monsters meant no more sight, but that was a small price to pay for being alive.

"Gaia!"

I turned in the direction of the shout, but I didn't even need to. I felt someone tackle me, hard.

"Hey Bella. You okay?"

I heard her laugh. "Yeah of course I am. Did you get hurt?"

"Nope, of course not. Hey I discovered something really cool!"

"Oh really? What?"

I smiled at her. "I can see the monsters."

"No way! So you were right in the thick of it, Gaia?"

"Yeah. Scariest thing of my life."

Dakota sat down next to me. "I got lucky. This guy pulled me out right before I got killed. I didn't get a chance to thank him."

"Did you get his name?"

A voice from behind us startled me. We turned to whoever was behind us. "My name is Blake Chronoabyss."

I gaped, and I bet my sister did too.

* * *

><p>Luckily, we got back to school just as the period was ending. I will forever be eternally grateful to the person who decided that we needed a two hour class to cover lunches.<p>

I caught up with Dakota after school. She gave me a nod. She had made her choice.

When we got home, we were logging on.

She wanted to play for fun.

I wanted to find that kid. Blake Chronoabyss.


	4. Chapter 02: Enter the Savior

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:**And thus introduces the other two main characters of our story: Zane Michaels and Aelia Turner. Well, you won't see much of Aelia until... Chapter 6, I think. Just know that she's Dakota's best friend, and you'll be fine.

Oh, and I want to make it clear that Zane is _not_ based on anyone I know. He's from my imagination. That is all.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (01/23/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Enter the Savior, Surfer Style<strong>

Thank God for Friday. No really. After school today Dakota and I were planning to spend the entire weekend playing Fusion Fall, so that we could get our levels up. Well, that was Dakota's excuse. Mine however…

"So, what did he look like?"

"Taylor, I know you didn't see him, but I'm not describing him for the millionth time!"

"You mean the twenty-second time!"

"Same difference!"

I wanted to know who saved my baby sister. Dakota wouldn't give up a single detail.

"Alright. Fine," I growled. "I'll see you later."

Dakota blinked. As always we were in the same hall. But for me to be leaving early, well, that was unheard of.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

I smiled at her. "I have to help a new kid around. See you later."

Dakota swore under her breath. "Damn it. Now I have to find Aelia." She rolled her eyes and left to find her friend.

* * *

><p>I ran up to the front office to meet the new kid. When I opened the door, the only kid in the office was your typical surfer boy: shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes, with a tan. Yep, so the new kid.<p>

"Hey, you new here?"

The boy looked up at me and smirked. "Who wants to know?"

His smirk was contagious, because I started to smile as well. "I do. I'm gonna help you around."

He stood up gracefully and nodded. "Cool," he said, holding out his hand. "Zane Michaels."

I grasped his hand and nodded. "Taylor McKenzie. Come on. First period's gonna start soon."

He nodded again, and together we left.

* * *

><p>All thoughts of Blake Chronoabyss were chased from my head. Why? Because Zane had overlapped them. Majorly.<p>

Zane was too cool for a California surfer in Middle-of-the-State-No-Large-Body-of-Water-Near-Us, Florida. He was polite and kind, courteous to the max, and just plain hot. We had all the same classes, and he held the door open for me at each one, something almost unheard of in our school. He also played Fusion Fall, which made him cooler. He wouldn't tell me his character, so I didn't tell him about any of my latest adventures.

His parting words, however, gave me something to think about.

"Yeah, I was at the Cul-de-Sac battle. I had to save some girl. Found her later gossiping with another one. Weird as all get out."

I gulped and muttered my agreement.

* * *

><p>Dakota had ditched me by the time I left the school I ran inside my house to see a hastily written piece of paper laying on the table.<p>

_Taylor – Go hang out with your new **boyfriend**. I'll handle the next internet crisis. Don't bother coming after me. Got it?_

I glanced at the clock. Dad'll be home in an hour. _If Dakota's not back by then_- My thoughts were cut of a scream. A digital scream.

"Dakota? Is that you?" I called up the stairs. No response.

I ran up the steps. Her computer was flashing and making noises. _That idiot actually went in alone? I thought she was bluffing! What is wrong with her?_

I ran to my computer and started to log in, but stopped. I couldn't go in alone – I'd be killed. No, I needed backup.

I flipped open my cell phone and clicked on the latest entry. _Zane Michaels_.  
>After three rings, someone picked up.<p>

"Zane here."

"Zane, it's Taylor. I need your help."

I heard him laugh. "On the math homework? Yeah, I'm having trouble with-"

"Not the math!" I shouted. "My sister – she's being an idiot and went into the game and now she's gonna get killed and-"

"Hold it!"

I paused.

"What game?"

"Fusion Fall."

He paused. "Did you actually say _into the game?_"

"Yeah, that's right."

He whistled. "Wow. The first person I meet in Florida happens to be a psycho."

"Wait! No, it's real Zane. You saw us. Oh, and I'm not a psycho."

"Excuse me?"

"The two girls you were complaining about. That was me and Dakota. Gaia Chaosabyss and Bella Dragonblazer. And you are Blake Chronoabyss. You saved our lives."

Another laugh. "So _that's_why you were talking so strangely."

"Listen Zane. You probably can do it too. Dakota said that you just have to put in your log information, hit enter, and say, out loud, log in. I guess after the first time it pretty much automatic."

"Fine. I'll look like a complete idiot, but I'll try it."

"Cool. Meet me in the Cul-de-Sac in front of King Eddy."

"See you, and good luck."

He hung up, and we logged in.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, a girl appeared on a green glowing platform. She was unconscious, and her pink and white outfit was torn. Laughter filled the cave she was in.<p>

"Let's see the children find their princess here, outside the net."

A hand touched the girl's pink hair, before vanishing.


	5. Chapter 03: The Infinite Death Loop

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **There is a bit of an interlude to this, which will come next week. It's kinda funny... Especially since dear Kit forced me to write it... I fear for my safety.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (01/30/12)

* * *

><p><strong>The Infinite Death Loop of Doom ™<strong>

The moment I appeared, I through my senses out, getting a feel for the world around me.

Next to me, I heard Zane hit the ground, disoriented and confused.

"What the…? Where am I?" he said, sounding frantic. I knelt down next to him, using his voice to guide me.

"Hey! Blake, calm down. It's me, Gaia. You know, from school?"

His hand touched my face, feeling the digital scars there. "Gaia? That's you?"

"Yeah, that's me. You alright?"

I heard him growl. "Do I look alright to you?"

I let out a sad sigh. "I don't know."

"You don't know? I'm ten inches in front of you! How could you not know!" He jumped to his feet, pacing loudly. I could hear it on the asphalt.

"I would love to know, Blake. It's just a little problem that _I can't see_."

He stopped his pacing. "What? You could at school today."

"I know," I whispered, hugging myself close. "In the Real World, I can see just fine. In the game, I can't. My avatar got damaged when I first got to the past." I stood as well, turning away from him. "That's why Bella and I travel together. She's my eyes."

"Hold on Gaia. You fought in the Cul-de-Sac battle. I saw you!"

I turned my head towards him, just enough for him to see my slight smirk. "I can, for the lack of a better word, see or even sense Fusion monsters. That's how I was able to fight. Hell, we had discovered that only minutes into that battle. I would've been killed otherwise."

He touched my shoulder. "I understand now. Let's swap stories later. For now, let's go find your sister."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>I guess it was luck that she was still logged in. Zane added her to his Buddy List, and the two of us warped to her. What we found was slightly discouraging.<p>

"Gaia!" I heard Dakota scream the moment we warped in. Zane touched my shoulder lightly to tell me he was here.

"Bella! What happened to you?" I cried. I turned to Zane. "Where is she?"

"She's caught in the Resurrect 'Em point. I don't know how, though."

I gulped. "I think I know." I turned to where Zane indicated Bella was flickering in and out. "Sis, did you try to log out when you were killed?"

Silence, than "Y-ye-es!"

I shifted closer to Zane. "Infinite Death Loop. Damn it."

"Crap," Zane groaned. "What do we have to do?"

"I know two ways. One painful for her, and one that's impossible for her.

"And the choices are?"

I nodded to myself. "We could shoot her, and hope that her health hitting zero again will reset her safely, or she could log out and got to the forum and report this."

Zane nodded next to me. I could feel the material of his shirt shifting. "Just shoot her. She can't do anything else, right."

I shook my head. "Nope. But you'll have to shoot her. I can't see her, only monsters."

"Alright, here I go." He took a few steps away from me. "Bella? This _might_hurt just a little." I heard a gunshot.

"I hit her."

"Cool."

I heard a thump. "Gaia!" Dakota tackled me, free of her entrapment. I hugged her back tightly.

"Bella, you are in so much trouble. Dad's gonna be home in an hour." I paused. "Blake, what time is it?"

I rustle, then, "Um… four forty-five. Is that bad?"

Dakota squeezed me. "Just a little."

* * *

><p>We all logged out together.<p>

I opened my eyes when my feet hit the hardwood floors, giving myself a few minutes to adjust to the brightness of the Real World.

Next to me, Dakota was taking a moment of pause herself. Being trapped and unable to break free must have scared her something awful.

"Um, Taylor? Problem." I looked at Dakota, then followed her gaze.

"Zane!"

The teen in question finished glancing around my room, taking in the animated posters, stacks of DVDs, and the general messiness that came with it.

"Well, this defiantly isn't my new room." I let out a groan.

"Um, sis? Bigger problem." Dakota said from my window, where she had moved to and glanced outside.

"Please don't tell me…"

Zane caught on to my uneasiness. "I guess this would be a bad time to point out that I'm here."

Dakota glared. "Yeah. Just a bit."

I ignored Dakota and smirked. "I have an idea. Dakota, stop fighting and get over here."

* * *

><p>"Girls! I'm home!"<p>

Dakota rushed downstairs and hugged Dad, that same way she has done since Mom died.

"Hi Dad. How was work?" she said as she stepped back.

"Boring as always." He took a glance around. "Where's Taylor? She's normally down here doing her homework."

Dakota grinned. "Oh, she's upstairs in her room doing homework with her new _boyfriend_!" She turned and ran up the stairs, laughing and ignoring the dumbfounded look on her Dad's face.

She threw open my door and announced, "He bought it!"

I looked at her with a cheeky little smile. "Great, because Zane just asked me out for real."

Dakota looked at Zane, who was sitting on my bed next to me with a book on his lap. He grinned at her.

I was surprised when Dakota leveled an angry glare at me.

"I hate your plans Taylor."


	6. Interlude 02: The Pain of Gunshots

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Yes, the interlude is short. Unfortnality, I have just had a crazy week, and this one looks to be about the same. If I had it my way, I would have more than triple this. Well, _c'est la vie_.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (02/06/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Interlude: The Pain of Gunshots<strong>

Taylor stood between her sister and her almost-boyfriend. Dakota looked like she might rip out Zane's eyes. Zane was glaring at Dakota, hands in his pockets.

Taylor sighed. "Alright. Dakota, why are you trying to kill Zane?"

"Because he shot me!" She made every word sound like a curse word.

"Zane, why are you glaring at Dakota?"

"Easy. She can't accept the fact that I saved her life and thank me for it." His voice was calm and collected, with only a hint of his annoyance seeping in.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I give up. Dakota, say thanks. Zane, grow up."

"No way in hell!" Dakota shouted.

"I will if she will," Zane said.

Taylor clenched her fists. "I hate you both." She glared at the pair of them. "I'm turning around and getting a drink. When I get back, you both better have made up. Got it?" She turned on her heel without waiting for an answer and stalked away from them.

Dakota started shouting the moment Taylor was out of earshot.

"You jerk! Why the _hell_ did you shoot me! You have no right!"

Zane tolled his eyes. "Oh grow up. I saved your life. Not only would you still be trapped, but you would be in so much trouble with your father."

"I would rather have been in trouble than shot!"

"Just sat thank you."

"Hell no! Apologize for shooting me damn it!"

Zane sighed. "Fine. I apologize for shooting you."

Dakota blinked. She had been so ready to shout some more. "What? Wait – you mean it?"

"Yep."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for the save, Zane."

The two of them shook hands just as Taylor came back with three drinks.

"Yes! You stopped fighting! You earned you drinks. I have a chance at sanity yet!"

"Damn it Taylor!" Dakota shouted and ran after her fleeing – and laughing – sister, holding her drink.

Zane took a long sip of his drink, watching the show the McKenzie sisters made, and laughed.


	7. Chapter 04: A Name and a Bay

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **I hate this chapter. I hate the beginning, the middle, and the end. I can't stand it. I do however like how I included the old forums. I miss them so much... *cries*

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (02/13/12)

* * *

><p><strong>A Name and a Bay<strong>

Not surprisingly, Zane, Dakota, and I spent the majority of the weekend together, playing Fusion Fall and leveling up. By the time we logged out Sunday night (or in reality Monday morning), Dakota and I had neatly passed level 16, while Zane hit level 20 with ease. All in all, it was quite the productive weekend.

Monday morning, we met Zane on the steps of the school. Even with only three hours of sleep, he still looked cool. He gave me a smile that seemed to make my body do a very convincing impression of Jell-O.

"Good morning Tay, Dakota," he greeted, never letting that smile slip.

"Morning Zane!" Dakota shouted.

"Good morning," I said as I got next to him, he wrapped his arm around me, holding me close.

"So I was thinking-" Dakota started. I couldn't help it. She left herself wide open.

"You were thinking? For real? Is this a one time thing or will you actually continue this?" Zane threw his head back and laughed. Dakota glared at me.

"Damn it, Taylor! Now I forgot!"

"Sorry 'Kota!" I pushed myself back to my feet, pulled Zane up with me. Just in time, too. The bell rang. "See you later!"

"Get back here you two!"

* * *

><p>"We need a group name."<p>

I turned my head to look at Zane. We were in second period English, working on essays about our weekend. We were making up our essays word-for-word, because if we actually wrote what we did all weekend, our teacher would call our parents faster than a racecar driver.

"A name? Why do we need a name?"

He shifted in his chair and looked at his essay before answering. "Because every group needs a name."

I rolled my eyes. "Not every group needs a name, Zane."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Check the Clubhouse on the forums. There's a bunch of groups. We need a name."

"No we don't," I said, turning back to my essay and ending the conversation. I heard Zane growl to himself before picking up his pencil and going back to work.

* * *

><p>Zane and I were surfing the net later in Wed Design when I came up with the random idea to check the Fusion Fall forums. I had to let out a groan.<p>

Nearly two hundred groups. All of them named.

I glanced at Zane out of the corner of my eye. He had a smug look on his face.

"What did I say? We need a group name."

"I hate you Zane." He gave me a fake hurt look. I just turned away, seething. My cell buzzed in my pocket. Zane must have heard it because he turned to me with an eyebrow raised.

With a glance to the class, I pulled my cell out to see that Dakota had sent me a text.

_Tay! Hero time! Grab Zane and head in! Ben needs help at Orchid Bay. Fuse wants the port!_

"Zane. Ready to log in?" I said after I read off the text. He smirked.

"What do you think? Just try to keep up."

We grinned at each other and logged in.

* * *

><p>We touched down in City Station, conveniently next to the Monkey Skyway Agent. All around me was shouts and noise. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the shouts.<p>

I tried to pull away from whoever was holding me; I couldn't hear if they were saying anything to me or not. That is, until we were on the other side of the building.

"Note to self: never log out next to a monkey again," a voice in my ear said. I relaxed. Zane had me safe.

"That was loud. What's going on, Blake?"

Zane tightened his hold on me. "A whole bunch of people are trying to get on the monkeys. It's a madhouse. Let's wait a minute, okay?"

I shook my head. "No, Bella's text sounded really urgent. We gotta go now. Just get me on a monkey; I'll be fine in the air, away from here."

He squeezed my hand. "Alright. Just follow my lead. I'll get us through the crowd."

Zane led me threw the crowds of people, right up to the monkeys. We got airborne only a second or two later. Only after we were in the air did I realize that they must have been groups waiting for their members.

I was really glad our little group had three members, and that's all.

As we headed in to land, my sightless vision exploded with green. A lot of fusions, I realized. I touched down and opened fire.

Someone ran in front of me, shouting and grunting. _Zane must be playing knight, swinging a sword and all_. My finger didn't leave the trigger as I spun, taking out more enemies.

"Gaia! Blake!" A girl's voice screamed. Dakota?

Someone hit my back, sending me sprawling across the ground. "Ouch! Damn it, what hit me?"

"I did, sister. You just nearly got killed." Dakota pulled me up, then stood back to back with me. She pulled out what sounded like a sub-machine gun. "Ready Gaia?"

"You bet, Bella."

We opened fire. Combined with the attacks from the many other groups and player on the battlefield, it only took half an hour to take out Fuse's army. My vision vanished, which told me we were done. That, and the hug from Zane.

I could hear the cheers and happiness surrounding our little group. Zane led me back to the monkeys, and we all headed back to City Station, moving to the side before logging out together.

* * *

><p>After school, Zane and I caught up with Dakota. I threw an arm around her shoulders, my other hand held tightly with Zane.<p>

"Hey, 'Kota. Sorry about this morning," I said, grinning at the shocked look on her face.

"You really mean that?"

"Yep. So what did you want tell us this morning?"

"Oh! Yeah. We need a name." I shared a look with Zane. We both grinned.

"Zane said the same thing, 'Kota."

"Great minds think alike." I smacked Dakota upside the head. "Ouch!"

"So… what are we called?"

Zane leaned forward so that he could see both of us. "I got an idea."

I spared a glance at Dakota. "Oh, and what is that?"

"The Travelers."

"I like it," Dakota declared.

"Then it's settled. We're the Travelers."

Dakota laughed, Zane grinned, and I giggled. Together.


	8. Chapter 05: Just Your Normal Date

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Honestly, I wrote this chapter just so I could use the title. There's really nothing else to say about it. XD

Oh, and yes, Kit did scream at me the first time I kissed my ex-boyfriend in front of her. It was kinda funny, actually...

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (02/21/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Just Your Normal, Semi-Insane Date, Thank You Very Much<strong>

Two weeks passed, and all seemed quiet on the digital front. No major attacks, just leveling up and living up to our name.

Zane and I hung out every day, either on or off line. Dakota wasn't really happy about it, but she liked Zane well enough. It all worked out pretty well.

Fourteen days after the Orchid Bay Barrage saw us walking home from school.

"Something's really off about this. Fuse hasn't sent an army anywhere in the world for two weeks now," Dakota said.

"'Kota, if you jinx this, I _will_have the time of my life blasting you back into the Death Loop!" Zane growled. I nodded with him.

"He must be planning something! I just know it!" she exclaimed stubbornly. "This could be-" Her cell phone rang.

Zane and I sighed.

"Five taros it's a warning about a battle," I murmured.

"Make it five hundred and I'll take it," Zane said. We shook on it.

Dakota clicked off her phone. "Guys, there's a fight in Townsville Center. Let's go!"

I glared at her. "You go, Dakota. We've got plans." I turned to Zane. "Pay up."

She stomped her foot. "Fine. I'll go in alone. I better not get killed! I'll blame you two!" She ran off.

I looked at Zane. "How long until she realizes that it was just Sarah and Kara having fun?"

"A couple hours, I should think." He smirked.

"Cool."

* * *

><p>Dakota stormed ahead, pissed that we didn't want to fight.<p>

"This isn't fair," she said to herself, stomping her feet in anger. "We swore to help protect the people in the game, not laze around flirting!"

She turned around. Far into the distance, she could see me kissing Zane. She gagged.

"PDA much!" she screamed, then ran for our house, intent on fighting a battle that she wanted to win.

* * *

><p>Zane and I relaxed on a bench, still laughing. Dakota was off on a wild goose chase, and it only cost me five bucks to my friends.<p>

Zane leaned on me. "So, now that we're free of your sister, what do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want to do."

He smiled and opened his mouth to say something, but my cell's buzzing ended that before he could even start. "Damn it."

I sighed and pulled it out. "It's Dakota."

_Taylor! You're little joke turned out to be real! Townsville Center and Park are swarmed, and they're moving in on City Hall! I need your help! Hurry!_

Zane looked at me and nodded. "Even if this is a joke," he said as he pulled me to my feet, "I was going to suggest an easy day of leveling up anyway."

I grinned. "Then let's go!"

* * *

><p>Surprisingly, Dakota wasn't joking. City Hall was surrounded by a green mass. I could hear the Mayor shouting encouragement from the steps of the building.<p>

"Gaia, I think that even Bubbles is getting overwhelmed. Ready?" Zane touched my shoulder.

"I was born ready, Blake. Let's get them!"

We ran headlong into the mass of monsters, hacking and slashing and blasting and shooting, fighting our way through. Every once in a while we ran into another player, some we knew and some that we didn't. All off them just nodded at us (or so Zane said), not bothering with words.

From my left, I heard a girl scream. I turned on my heel and blasted the monsters, around her.

"Go Gaia! You saved me!"

"No worries, Bells. Let's finish this!"

The battle was longer than the others, stretching three hours before it ended. The moment it was over, we logged out. Zane and I collapsed on my bed, and from the bang I heard, Taylor had done the same in her room.

Zane turned and propped himself up by his elbows. "What a bad day to have a date, don't you think?"

I groaned and threw an arm over my eyes. "Tell me about it. Just our luck, too."

A knock at my door made me sit up. My eye saw the clock – nope, Dad's not home yet. "Come in, 'Kota."

Dakota pushed open the door, but didn't move past the doorway. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, 'Kota," I said, looking her dead in the eye. "I shouldn't have pulled that prank on you. We just wanted some alone time is all."

"Dakota, it was my fault." I looked at Zane. "It was my idea, and it was cruel. Forgive me, but don't blame your sister."

She nodded, accepting, and smiled. "No worries." She turned to go. "Oh, just so you know. The first one was real. Sarah and Kara texted nearly twenty minutes later." She slammed the door.

I looked at Zane. "Wonderful."

Zane laughed. "Whatever." He looked at the clock and smirked. "Taylor. You, me, eight o'clock, movies. Alright?"

I smiled. "Just don't tell Dakota. She might get revenge with spying."

We both laughed, me leaning on him, looking forward to the future.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Dakota was downstairs with Dad, telling him all about her "uneventful" day. Zane and I were at the movies, watching <em>Dragonball Evolution<em>, as it was the only movie not sold out.

In my room back home, my computer turned itself on. The screen glowed green, with text and numbers flowing downwards, like in _The Matrix_.

A voice crackled through the speakers, soft and distorted by white noise.

"_A – ta? Ae – ita! – lita? Whe – ar - u?_"

The computer shut down.


	9. Chapter 06: Gettin' Nowhere

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **I'll be entirely honest, I wrote this chapter just so I could have the "lost in nowhere" joke. I swear. And when I first gave it to Kit to read, she nearly died of laughter. XD**  
><strong>

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (02/27/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Detention, Blindness, and Gettin' Nowhere<strong>

From that day on, we trained and pushed ourselves to the limit, both on and off line. Dakota was able to find detailed maps of the game, so I was able to study the different areas. It really was the first time I had seen the majority of the Past, so you can imagine that it was quite the experience.

While at school, we kept in contact via our phones. Somehow we kept up with our school work, which was kinda surprising considering the fact we spent nearly every waking minute online.

Inside Fusion Fall, the situation was getting pretty insane. Fuse was relentless in his attack upon the major player sanctuaries, such as Endsville and Mount Blackhead.

With all the taros we had saved up, Dakota went on a mini shopping spree. She bought all of us high level matching outfits, as well as powerful weapons. While I didn't mind the new stuff, I wish she would have at least told Zane first. I don't think he liked the pink hoodie too much – I know _I_didn't.

A mouth passed, then two. We had fallen into a routine. Zane would meet us at the school each morning. We would suffer through classes, unless there was a FFE, or Fusion Fall Emergency, as I named them. After school, we would head to out house, and – under the pretense of studying – we would log in. Unless it was a weekend. All day Saturday and Sunday mornings were spent at Zane's house. Sunday afternoons and evenings were reserved for ourselves.

This worked well for a while, until…

"Detention, Mr. Michaels!"

Dakota and I were shocked. "But Mrs. Kingston, I haven't done anything wrong!" Zane protested.

"Loitering on school property is against school rules. You will serve detention today after school. Now get inside!" The woman never even looked at us.

"But… but…. I'm not loitering?"

My sister and I traded glances. Who in their right minds would give a teenage boy detention on a Friday afternoon? Oh wait. Mrs. Kingston.

I ran up and pulled him into a hug. "That woman is the devil," I whispered in his ear. "How could you be loitering if you just walked up to the school, _on a school day!_"

Dakota sighed. "There's nothing that can be done. The She-devil never changes her mind. Why else do you think she is the head disciplinarian?"

"Damn it," he cursed. But he both knew Dakota was right. Nothing could be done.

* * *

><p>The final bell rang.<p>

I left Zane on the front steps of the school with nothing but a quick hug. It tore me up to see him fade into the distance.

Dakota gave me a one-armed hug as we walked home. "Don't worry. He'll be free by five."

"I know," I said. "It'll just be so weird not to have him there when we appear. I'm so used to him being there, describing exactly what is there-"

"Taylor, this sounds like a bad romance novel."

I glared at her as we walked into the house. "Shut it Dakota!" I growled. I dropped onto the couch as Dakota headed upstairs. "I'll log on later," I yelled out. "I've got psych homework."

"Okay!" She shouted down. "I'm gonna log on now. I'll meet you at the Cul-de-Sac in an hour, okay?"

I yanked out my book and started.

* * *

><p>When I finished, I looked at the clock. <em>Forty-five minutes<em>, I thought. _She'll be waiting for me by now_.

I ran upstairs and logged into the game.

* * *

><p>I knew the moment I hit the ground that I had an email. Luckily, even if I was blind, I could still receive it. Thank God for audio.<p>

"Gaia! Help! I'm lost! Warp to me so we can get out of here together!" Dakota's message came through loud and clear. Especially loud.

I tried warping to her only to find that I couldn't. _She must be in one of the infected zones!_I nearly yelled out loud, but caught my tongue.

It took me a while to remember our plan – to head to Nowhere to do a sweep. I swore.

"Of all the places that she would get lost, it just had to be Nowhere. Not Downtown, where I at least know where I'm going because I can count the buildings. No. The middle of bloody Nowhere!"

At least I was still in the Cul-de-Sac. I had memorized the layout, and where the flying monkeys were.

But right now I had to use a SCAMPER, which I didn't mind. At least my feet were still on solid ground so to speak, even if it was still in the air.

I landed on Mount Blackhead and ran for the nearest monkey. I flew to Nowhere as quickly as I could. I could hear Kevin complaining about having sand in his car, and Juniper yelling at him to shut up.

I started running in a random direction, shouting out Dakota's name. That got me nowhere. I finally gave up and changed direction. Again, nothing.

I warped to the nearest Resurrect 'Um. And struck gold.

"Of course! Run in a random direction for long enough and you'll get to the next area!" I slammed my head into my hands. "I am _such_an idiot," I groaned.

I took a deep breath and warped into Area 51.5's Infected Zone, where dangers and my sister lie within.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the real world…<p>

"I'm free!" Zane took the school steps three at a time. He raced across the pavement, feet slamming and pushing him faster. He made it to my house in record time.

Zane pulled out his key (which Dad doesn't know that it's a copy of mine or that he even has it at all) and got inside.

He ran – and tripped – upstairs and into my bedroom.

_I've got a bad feeling…_

"Hang on girls. I'm coming." He logged on.

* * *

><p>I was having the time of my life fighting off enemies and screaming Dakota's name. And I was failing in both respects.<p>

"Need a hand, Gaia?"

"Blake!" I shouted, shocked. "When the hell did you get here?"

"About ten seconds ago."

The green haze vanished from my vision, telling me that all the fusions were gone, for now.

Zane took my hand and pulled me back to the warp gate. "Why are you out here? And on that note, where's Bella?"

I groaned. "When I logged on, she sent me a frantic email, begging for my help, She said she was lost in Nowhere."

"The irony of that statement is hilarious."

I punched him. "Anyway, I tried to warp to her, but I couldn't. So I got to Kevin, June, and Courage and ran from there."

"Oh." Zane laughed. "Well then, let's go find Bella."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, I heard her.<p>

"Gaia! Gaia, help!"

I turned to Blake. He took my hand. "Let's," he whispered.

"Kamikaze!" We both ran headlong, only to hear laughing. Zane froze. I felt him tug me back.

"Blake-"

"Gaia, hush."

The laughter continued. That's when I noticed something.

"Blake, that's Bella's laugh. But it's distorted."

"A trap," he growled. "Stay here." He let me go. A minute later, he touched my arm. "Gaia, we have a minor problem."

"What?"

"Um… Bella's there, but she's not waking up." I froze.

"What?" This time my voice shook.

"I'm gonna try to wake her up. When I say go, log out."

"Got it."

He vanished from my side again. Then, "Go!"

I logged out.

* * *

><p>Zane caught Dakota before she hit the ground.<p>

"Dakota?" I whispered.

She didn't look hurt, but she was still unconscious. I gave her a little shake. She moaned and woke up.

"Don't scare me like that, little sister," I said as Zane laid her down on her bed.

"What? But… I just logged in. Why am I in the real world?" Dakota looked _slightly_freaked out.

"Don't worry Dakota. We'll figure this out," Zane said. We shared a glance over her head. "Get some rest."

I pulled Zane from her room. The moment the door shut, I looked at him, fear in my eyes.

I whispered, "Zane, what could've happened-"

Zane pulled me into a hug. "I don't know, but I swear to find out," he whispered into my ear. "I swear."

After a minute, we started to break apart. His gaze locked with mine.

"Taylor…" he murmured, his body freezing up. I finally took control of my own body and pushed forward, catching his lips with mine. His arms pulled me closer to him, and mine snaked around his neck. My eyes fluttered closed, along with his.

"Damn it Taylor! Get a room." Zane and I jumped apart to see Dakota in her doorway. She glared at us murderously.

"Zane. Run!" I shouted, running for my room and locking my door after him, Dakota screaming at us all the while.


	10. Chapter 07: Battle Cul de Sac, Take Two

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **When Kit and I first planned out this fic, we both had to decide what areas in the game should fall. The top of both lists? Well, read below. (Psst. The next chapter is longer.)

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (03/05/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Battle for the Cul-de-Sac, Take Two<strong>

Fire.

Explosions.

Screams.

Terror.

Laughter.

* * *

><p>Only two hours after we had logged out, Dakota started screaming.<p>

Zane and I had been lying on my bed, doing our homework. Well, we were attempting to. We spent more time trying to figure out what happened to Dakota.

The moment I heard her, I was off my bed and out the door before Zane even had the chance to sit up.

I threw open her door. "Dakota, what's-" I cut myself off. Dakota was gone, and her computer was on. I turned and ran back to my room, pulling Zane with me.

"Taylor, what's going on? Why did 'Kota scream?"

I paused in front of the computer, hands hovering over the keyboard. "She logged in, Zane. We'll have to follow to get out answers."

Zane nodded. We headed in.

* * *

><p>I could smell soot and burnt wood. That was odd, considering the fact that we had logged in at the Cul-de-Sac.<p>

"Gaia, I think we have a problem." Zane's hand was interlocked with mine, and he squeezed mine tighter.

"Blake, what is it? Bella?" I was scared. I'll be the first to admit it. I couldn't see what Zane was seeing, and it was terrifying.

Footsteps approached us, and Zane relaxed. A friend, I guess.

"Gaia! Blake! Thank God you're here!" Dakota gave me a hug, which I pulled out of.

"Bella, why in the name of all that is holy did you scream? You scared the hell out of us!"

I heard her shuffle her feet. "Um… well, I'll explain later. We have a major problem right now."

I growled, "So Blake tells me. What the hell is going on? And why do I smell smoke!" I just got silence. "I'll give you three seconds to tell me what is going on. Starting now."  
>Zane sighed. "Gaia, do you know where we are?"<p>

"Mojo's Volcano?"

A pause. "No. We're in the Cul-de-Sac."

My heart stopped. Around me, I could finally register the screams and scrambling of the other players. Now I understood.

One of the few safe places in this world had been taken from us – from me – again.

I burst into tears. "Why! Why now! Hasn't this world suffered enough?"

Zane hugged me. "There's nothing we can do now. Let's log out and regroup in your room, Bella."

We did just that.

* * *

><p>Zane and I ended up curled together on Dakota's bed, with Dakota sitting on her desk chair across the room. Zane was describing the scene at the Cul-de-Sac.<p>

"I couldn't see through the smoke, so I don't know if Double-D, Eddy, and Wilt are alright. Same with the Urban Rangers, Number 4321, and the monkeys. All the buildings were on fire and burning down. The cardboard castle was already soot by the time we had arrived."

Dakota sighed. "That area of the Suburbs is pretty much lost now. We've gotta find somewhere safe to log out from now on."

"Orchid Bay?" I suggested. "It's pretty safe, and I know where everything is."

"That's a possibility," Zane agreed.

Dakota turned back to her computer and logged onto the forums. "Forget Orchid Bay," she said after a time.

"Why?" I nodded along with Zane's question.

"Because Orchid Bay just got wiped out today, at the same time as the attack on the Cul-de-Sac." She paused. "Oh, and right now, the player area of Endsville is being held hostage as we speak."

I looked at Zane. "We should help."

He smirked. "I'm game. 'Kota?"

She nodded. "We need a new base anyway. Let's go!"

For the third time that day, we logged on.

* * *

><p>Our luck finally reappeared, thankfully. Just as we arrived in Endsville, so did Ben, Dexter, and their teams. The fusions holding the sector hostage were quickly defeated, and we had our new base. Everyone there got congratulations from Ben and Dexter – which I really took to heart.<p>

Back in the Real World, Zane stayed over for dinner, and Dad got to meet him as my boyfriend. He was supportive of our relationship, going so far as to say that any guy who could get me to smile out of my perpetual depression was perfectly fine in his book. Zane gave me a questioning look about Dad's comment, but I was able to get him to wait until later to ask.

That night, my dreams were a mix of memories of the past and hope for the future. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.


	11. Chapter 08: Is This Really Goodbye?

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Well, at least one of Taylor's secrets are out in the open! Oh how I wish Zane was a real guy.

Oh, and I'm switching to updating twice a week! Look for the next chapter on Friday!

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (03/12/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Is This Really Goodbye?<strong>

Ten days. Ten days of absolute hell.

I've lost count of how many major attacks there have been, and how many hours of sleep I've lost since this insane week-and-a-half had started.

Because of all the insanity, Zane hasn't had the chance to talk to me about what Dad said, which suits me just fine. I _really_don't want to be going down memory lane right now.

Dakota had integrated herself into Fusion Fall's rumor mill, which was majorly helpful. We found out that because of all of the craziness, a bunch of players were quitting every hour. The rest of us were trying to pick up the slack, but it was starting to look impossible. There just weren't enough of us.

My seventeenth birthday, May 17, came and went without much fanfare, similar to Zane's only six days prior. Sure, we exchanged gifts, but that was about it. Neither of us were up for a giant party. I gave him a star-shaped pendent with ZM on one side and BC on the other, the initials of his real and game names. His gift to me was the same, except with my initials (TM and GC), and the fact that mine was a heart.

I was losing hope, until the eleventh day…

Dakota got another text message, luckily right after school. She read it to us on our walk home.

_"By now you know that the invasion is immanent. You've done so much good work, that I feel that I must congratulate you, and give you some more information. The final invasion, where Fuse himself will step foot upon the ground, will be in one weeks time. Be ready."_

We all shared a look when Dakota finished reading.

"No time, no location. No nothing," Zane growled. "Whoever your informant is, their info sucks."

I shook my head. "At least we have a day, a warning, and some time, Zane."

"Yeah!" Dakota threw in.

Zane leveled us with a glare. The rest of the walk was in silence.

* * *

><p>The countdown was on. We only had three days left. Gods knows if we'll survive or not. Heck, we didn't even know if we would be alive after this. And no, I don't mean in the game. I mean in the Real World.<p>

Zane had the same fears. He didn't want to go down without a fight, that much was certain. And he didn't want to lose his friends, or me.

To say that some of us were scared would be an understatement. No, we were all terrified of what might be coming for us when we entered the battle.

To my surprise, the day before the battle, Zane took me out on a date. Not to the movies, though. He took me to the mall. That was fun.

We bought new clothes for the next day. We wanted to look nice, even if it would be out last time. While I was trying on my fifth outfit for Zane, a saleslady walked up. I poked my head out from behind the curtain.

"Oh, are you just now getting your dress for prom?" she asked.

I gaped at Zane, who had a sad smile on his face. "Yeah," he said. "We just ran out of time to get up here before now." She smiled politely and walked away.

Zane gave me a smirk. "Surprise!"

"Zane Michaels! Why didn't you tell me that we were shopping for prom!" I growled at him, and then paused. "Wait a minute. Prom is tomorrow…"

He laughed. "Duh. Now you have the incentive to survive tomorrow. I want us to dance together, in front of the entire school."

I gave him a soft smile before quickly changing into regular clothes. "Come on," I said as I ran out of the dressing room and grabbed his arm. "Prom dresses are this way!"

I gave him a tug and dragged him away.

* * *

><p>Inside Fusion Fall, Dakota was doing some last minute shopping, at this little black market stand set up where the Cul-de-Sac used to be.<p>

"So I want five blasters, a couple sub-machine guns…"

The Urban Ranger behind the counter was having a bit of trouble keeping up with my sister.

* * *

><p>The dress I picked out was beautiful. Ice green, floor length, strapless, with a splash of little crystals dotting the skirt. To me, it was beautiful.<p>

If I liked it, than Zane was in love with it. He swore that his tuxedo would look fine next to it.

After paying for the dress, Zane's mom picked it up, and we took a walk in the park. She had given us a picnic basket full of food, so we found a nice clearing under the starts and had a moonlight picnic, just like my mom and I would do on my birthday every year.

I felt a tear fall from my eye when I thought about it, and Zane noticed. "Taylor, what…?"

I sighed. He had a right to know. "Every year on my birthday, my mom would take me for a moonlight picnic. We would eat fried chicken and salad and drink lemonade until we were sick," I said, gesturing to the food his mother had packed for us. "Every year…"

"Until this one," Zane slipped in. He put his arm around my shoulders and held me close. "Taylor, where is your mom?" he whispered.

"Last year, on our walk home, we were run over by a drunk driver. We were both in the hospital, in ICU. I came our alright, if a little shaken. In the end I had two broken legs, a fractured rib, and a concussion. Mom wasn't so lucky. She was six months pregnant. She was dying, and we all knew it. She never woke from her coma, and when the doctors operated to remove my baby brother, she died on the table. My brother, Sean Christopher, died a week and a half later. Today."

Zane held me close. I wouldn't cry. I had to stay strong, for Mom and for Sean. I had promised her, when we were still on the picnic.

He looked at me. "You know, it's okay to cry." That did it. I finally let go. Zane held me in his arms while I cried for my mom, for my dad, and for Dakota and Sean. And finally, I cried for myself.

When I had finally cried myself out, Zane gave me a tissue. "Your dad suggested this, for the record. Mom just made classic picnic food."

I smiled. "Thanks Zane," I said. Then I kissed him. Just a quick one, because we were in public and I didn't want things to get out of hand.

We finished up our dinner, making small talk as we did. Soon it was time to walk home.

* * *

><p>"A bunch of bombs, a lot of those swords, a knife or twenty…"<p>

* * *

><p>Zane walked me right up to my front door.<p>

"Do you want to come in?" I asked him.

"Nah, I can't," he said. "I gotta get some sleep." He gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Sweet dreams, Gaia," he whispered into my ear.

"Good night Blake," I whispered back to him before he pulled away. He ran off, heading for home. I smiled and ran inside, right up to my room. I had nearly forgotten that Dad was working the night shift that night, and Dakota was probably already logged in. So I had the house to myself.

I yanked off my jacked and tossed it aside. When it hit the ground, I heard a thump.

"What in the world…?"

A small black box had fallen out, with a small handwritten note taped to the top if it.

_Taylor,_

_I hope you like it. Wear it for me. One day it will become a wedding ring._

_Zane._

I flipped open the velvet box to see a small silver band. Engraved on the inside was _imagine, believe, receive_.

I was shocked. The ring had to cost at least two hundred dollars, and he bought it for me. He really was in love with me.

I slid it on my finger, shocked that it fit perfectly on my finger.

* * *

><p>"I swear Zane. I'm gonna survive tomorrow. You had better as well…"<p>

* * *

><p>Dakota peeked into my bedroom hours later. She saw that I was asleep and sighed.<p>

"I'm ready for tomorrow, sister. Are you?"

She climbed into her bed and tried to sleep. She pretty much failed in that.

* * *

><p>Zane sat on his windowsill, staring up at the night sky. He was too keyed up to sleep.<p>

In his hand was a ring that matched mine. He slid it onto his finger, then clenched his fist.

"I will not fail tomorrow," he whispered. "I swear it."

* * *

><p>And all around the world, a group of teenagers prepared for what would be the hardest battle of their lives to far.<p> 


	12. Chapter 09: A Battle Hidden in Darkness

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **The final battle... kinda. You'll understand in a few chapters. Yeah, that's not giving everything away.

Hope you enjoy today's update!**  
><strong>

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (03/16/12)

* * *

><p><strong>A Battle Hidden in Darkness<strong>

Dakota got the text message we'd all been waiting for during lunch. It was crunch time, we only had an hour left before D-Day.

Everyone brought their laptops to school, so they were ready at a moment's notice. Dakota led Zane and I to the library to log on. It was the safest place to vanish from.

Zane gave me one last hug before logging in. Suddenly it was just Dakota and I.

"Back at the beginning," I whispered.

Dakota smirked. "Just like our first time we played."

"Let's do this." She nodded.

"I'll watch your back."

We hugged and logged in, leaving our world, and our safety, behind.

* * *

><p>Dakota got an email when we appeared.<p>

"Gaia, looks like this is going down where it all started. Sector V, the Treehouse."

I nodded. "Where every new player starts, and where I lost my chance to see this world."

Zane had joined us by then. "Then let's go. I've sent the other groups on ahead."

We grouped up and ran headlong, back to where this game had began.

* * *

><p>Noon.<p>

An army of Players stood on top of the Treehouse, Zane described to me. Everyone was high in level, and they held the strongest weapons they could. I myself clenched my melee gun. Dakota told me she was holding two swords, while Zane was using God knows what.

Soon, my blind vision filled with a bright, deep haze of green. It was time.

"Get ready," I said to the Players. I heard a murmur of agreement. Not even they knew that I was blind, which was fine in my book.

An explosion. The Treehouse shook. I heard Zane curse next to me.

"We gotta drop in firing," he shouted over the noise. "We're sitting ducks up here! It's a damned army! Gotta be at least ten thousand!"

Everyone started shouting, and them they jumped. My heart stopped as my feet left the ground and wind whipped through my hair. I could already hear the screams of people as they got knocked out. I prayed they were alright.

My finger found the trigger. I landed firing.

Around me, explosions rocked the ground. I could hear bodies and shrapnel flying, and small pieces cutting my face.

I lost contact with everyone in my group. I dared not use a buddy warp; I would be vulnerable for a few seconds, just enough to get killed.

Parts of my vision would black out before filling with green again. Wave after wave of fusion monsters pounded into me.

I could feel myself growing exhausted, but still I pressed on. I had no idea how long I was going for. I just knew that I was alone in a sea of green.

"Gaia!" Dakota's voice screamed from my left. "Gaia! Where are you?"

"To your right Bella!" I shouted back, taking another hit before whipping out yet another group of monsters.

The hand on my shoulder wasn't my sister's, but my boyfriend's. "Blake," I gasped.

"Only a bit left. You ready?"

I growled at him. "What do you think? Let's end this insanity!"

I ran straight for the nearest green blur, Zane and Dakota right by my side.

* * *

><p>More explosions. More gunshots. More screams.<p>

Then silence.

My vision faded, and I knew it was over.

That is, until color filled it again.

I gasped. I could see the smoke. The people. The light blue sky. The charred black grass.

"Blake!"

A boy with blue hair turned to me, as well as a girl with gray-white hair.

"Gaia? What's up?" Zane walked up to me. I felt tears well up in my digital eyes. I just looked at him, watching him walk and smile. Then I saw his gun.

"Could you get a more pathetic gun?"

He glanced down at the weapon, before looking at me again, this time in shock.

"Gaia?" You… can… see…?" Dakota's voice shook.

"Finally!" I said, grinning. Zane hugged me tightly.

* * *

><p>After the clean-up, Zane and Dakota took me on a whirlwind tour of every area of the game. I saw the mountains, the oceans, and everything in between.<p>

Finally, we took a break at a fountain in Orchid Bay. I sat next to Zane, telling him about how I could never begin to thank him, when I froze.

"Gaia?"

I couldn't speak. Darkness was on the edge of my vision, and the color was rapidly fading.

"Blake, it wasn't permanent! I'm going blind again!"

My last sight was his face, sadness and fear covering every inch of it.

* * *

><p>Once again, we were on the Treehouse, getting reading to log out. And, once again I was blind.<p>

Dakota was thanking our friends while Zane had ran off somewhere. I didn't have a clue.

I tensed up when what felt like cloth covered my eyes.

"Here, Gaia."

"Blake?"

"Trust me. I've got an idea. You'll see later."

We logged out.

* * *

><p>That night, Zane and I shared our first dance at the Sophomore-Only Mini-Prom. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was that night, and how fitting it was.<p>

"You good?"

I smiled at Zane. We had just sat down to take a break.

"Yeah. I'm happy."

He pulled a stray hair from my eyes.

"Good."


	13. Interlude 03: How to Conquer Fear

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Alright, so I originally wrote this for a fanfiction contest on the OLD FusionFall forums, before they were deleted. I didn't win, which I really don't care about, because there were about five other fics that were better than mine.

As you'll see later (SPOILER), here is Aelia's in-game character, Aria. If you forgot, Aelia is Dakota's best friend. She gets more of a role in later chapters.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (03/19/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Interlude: How to Conquer Fear<strong>

The hardest thing that Aria Skyler had to do was actually get on the monkey. No, she wasn't crippled, nor did she have a lot of items in her bunny bag.

She was afraid of heights.

Always had been, and probably always will be.

Now, to be fair, monkeys were by far the most convenient mode of transportation in the game. She wasn't putting the monkeys down. It's just that flying terrified her to no end.

But now she had no excuse. Eddy wanted her to deliver something to Jack and Coop over in the junkyard. Either she would have to run that entire way (which was the most annoying thing in the world), or she could fly.

She chose the lesser of two evils. At least if she flew, she would get to the junkyard quickly.

Aria held on for dear sweet life at the monkey took off into the air. She held in her scream as he had to do some strategic maneuvering to dodge some of the incoming monkeys into the Cul-de-Sac. To Aria, it felt like she was on one of those swinging chair rides at a carnival.

She closed her eyes are the monkey flew higher, to at least a hundred feet up. When he leveled off, she peeked open one eye, and whimpered.

The ground was flying past her feet as if a blur. Trees were like little specks to her. She could see the cars, but only fleetingly.

Then the ground vanished, and she was flying over murky green water, tainted by the fusion matter infecting the world. No animals could survive down there any longer, which probably helped add to the dissolute world.

Her monkey seemed to float across the river, even if he was high above it. Aria was chocked at the sight and feeling of it. Off, but fun.

Suddenly she found herself leaning into the wind, anticipating the monkey's every move, looking and laughing in every direction.

When she landed in the junkyard, Aria thanked the monkey, who smiled and took another person back to the Cul-de-Sac.

With a sigh, she walked over to Jack and Coop and gave them what Eddy asked her to give them – two sandwiches. Talk about embarrassing. At least they gave her some taros for the trip back.

Aria climbed onto the monkey for the flight back, by far more enthusiastic then before.

* * *

><p>As soon as she landed, she ran up and hugged Eddy, thanking him. Other people, including Edwardo and the Urban Rangers, started laughing.<p>

Off to the side, three teens watched as Aria got more taros from Eddy.

"Well Blake, if protecting this world every gets boring, we could always help kids break their crippling fear of heights," one of the teens, a brunette girl with a black clock covering her eyes said.

"That was lame, sis," the other girl, white-haired and golden-eyed, laughed.

"Shut up, Gaia. You too, Bella," the blue-haired boy growled.

Aria glanced over and glared at her friends – both in the game and in the real world – even while she smiled at them in thanks.


	14. Chapter 10: A Simple Day of Fun

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:** I totally forgot to post this chapter on Friday. I was recovering from seeing _Hunger Games_ at midnight with my friends. Sorry! So, to make up for me being a forgetful moron, I'm posting two chapters today!**  
><strong>

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (03/26/12)

* * *

><p><strong>A Simple Day of Fun<strong>

Summertime had finally arrived.

We were free to do whatever we wanted, now that exams were done.

Because of said exams, none of us had the chance to log onto Fusion Fall, and I do believe we were going into withdrawal.

The first day of summer break was spent partying and having a paper bonfire – when we burned all the assignments we had to do over the last year. Zane joined us for the day, which made it a lot more fun. His mom helped cook, so the workload came out to be about even.

The next day, Zane showed up on my doorstep, laughing. We had just sat down to breakfast, so I invited him in. After we all ate, we ran upstairs to my room to talk in peace.

"What's up Zane? You said you wouldn't be over until nine," Dakota asked as she sat on my desk chair.

"Check your email. You'll understand," he replied.

She shrugged her shoulders before doing what she was told. Sure enough, there was a new email from Fusion Fall.

_Attention all Players! Happy Summer Break! In honor of this fun time of year, we have launched the servers for Canada, England, Japan, Australia, Italy, and France! So write to all your friends and pen pals from around the world, and get them to log on today!_

I smiled. "Cool! Let's play and introduce ourselves to players from around the world!"

Zane laughed. "And now you know what I came so early. Let's go!"

And for the first time in a long time, we logged in to play for fun.

* * *

><p>"Any sigh of her?"<p>

"Nope, just some weird kids."

"Anyone with pink hair?"

"Jeremie, when we find her, we'll tell you. Not stop being a backseat Player and shut up!"

"Or you could join us…"

"Yeah! Like Ulrich said!"

"Odd, shut up."

* * *

><p>It seemed that my sight was coming back, but it quickly faded every time. I now understood why Zane gave me that cloth. It was so that my eyes wouldn't hurt, even when my sight came back. The cloth was filtered – light could come through, but only a marginal amount at any one time.<p>

It just so happened that my sight returned enough to see a group of three oddly dressed teenagers – two boys and a girl. I caught their conversation – _really odd teenagers…_

"Blake, did you hear them?" I asked, only to discover that my sister and boyfriend had ditched me for a group of new Japanese players – all girls. "Fine." I stomped my foot.

I turned back to the three kids to study them closer. They were wearing really differed clothes on – things I had never heard of, much less seen. Cheat items, perhaps. I mean, come on. One of them had a purple cat tail for crying out loud!

One of the boys – dressed as a samurai, no tail – turned and saw me. I thankfully had just tuned away from them to watch Zane and Dakota, and only saw them in my peripheral vision.

"Hey, you! Girl!"

I moved back, annoyed that they couldn't see that my name was "Gaia", not "girl".

"Yeah?" I called.

The girl ran up to me. She was dressed as a geisha, white makeup and all. "Have you seen a pink-haired girl around here?"

I nodded. "Sure. Look around. There are about ten pink-haired girls to pick from," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice as I gestured around. A lot of people were in Genius Grove today, as it may as well have been the new Cul-de-Sac.

The girl gave me an annoyed look, which I barely caught, as my sight vanished again. Over the group chat, I called for Zane and Dakota, who had just started walking back anyway.

"Okay," the girl growled, annoyance dripping from her voice. "Any pink-haired girls matching this?" I could hear the flutter of paper, but of course I couldn't see it.

"Um… no?"

Zane's hand on my shoulder kept me from saying anything more.

"How could she see," he said, "when she's blind?"

"What… but… how…?" Now the geisha was confused.

"Never you mind. "He gave me a tug. "Come on Gaia."

"Blake-"

And as Zane told me to log out, I heard another voice saying the same thing to those kids. Small world much?

* * *

><p><em>This is odd<em>, I thought. I wasn't curled up against my bed, or on my hardwood floor. And my room was never this bright. I felt like I should cover my eyes from the light, even though they were already closed.

"What do you mean 'Three more people devirtualized with us!' Jeremie, what's going on?" That samurai's voice from the game seemed to echo from God knows where.

"I don't know Ulrich. It makes no sense. They don't even go to Katic!" _That voice is new_, I thought. _No, wait. The voice from nowhere…_

I heard a murmur I recognized. "Tay, turn off your TV. My head hurts."

The geisha's voice was next. "She looks alright, just very confused. Odd, what about him?"

"He's a real barrel of laughs, this one is." That had to be catboy.

"Zane," I mumbled. I opened my eyes, just a little, and took in the sight before me.

Dakota was curled up at the bottom of an open cylinder tube, with a Japanese-looking girl leaning over her. Both of Dakota's hands were around her head. Zane was on his back in the center of the room, staring at the ceiling, looking pale. A boy with impossible hair was poking him. Two more boys stood nearby, staring at me. One had brown hair, the other blond. All of them looked drawn and exhausted.

The blond approach me, pausing about a foot away. The brunet crouched in front of him, his eyes on me. "My name is Jeremie Belpois," the blond said. "This is Ulrich Stern, Yumi Ishiyama, and Odd Della Robbia. And you are?"

I looked at him and sighed. "I'm Taylor McKenzie. That's my sister, Dakota, and my boyfriend, Zane Michaels. Where are we?"

"Kadic Junior High School," Ulrich said as if it explained everything. "In Paris, France."

Dakota summed up everything.

"Oh. Damn."


	15. Chapter 11: Um Translation Please?

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:** Yeah... this is in Dakota's point of view. Well, the only thing I can say in my defense is Kit whined and I gave in.

...Remind me never to do that again, okay?

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (03/26/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Um… Translation Please?<strong>

"Oh. Damn."

Well, this is odd. No really. How do you call your dad and say, "I was playing an online game, actually started playing on the internet, and was somehow sent to France?" Yeah, it's not possible.

So, let me get you up to speed. I'm Dakota McKenzie, age fourteen. I live in Middle-of-Nowhere, Florida, USA.

With me in France are my sister, seventeen-year-old Taylor, and her same-age boyfriend, Zane Michaels.

I really wouldn't mind that I was in France, if it wasn't for the fact that we didn't get here through normal means, i.e. a plane or a ship. Nope. Here, let me explain.

Taylor, Zane and I have discovered a new way to play Cartoon Network's new online game, _**FusionFall**_. And by play it, I mean live it. We actually go into the game and play.

Two weeks ago, we called together a band of Players to stop one of Fuse's major attacks, this time on Sector V. We were able to, but we had to stop playing to study and take our final exams.

Today, we decided to play for fun, which we hadn't done in absolute months. We met a group of people, and all of us logged out. Instead of ending up in Taylor's bedroom, we were here. Kadic Junior Boarding School in France, with four really unusual teens, Jeremie, Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi. And that's about it.

* * *

><p>Taylor jumped to her feet in shock, but had to grab the side of the cylinder to keep from falling over. "We're in France?"<p>

Zane let out a groan. "How in hell is that possible?"

I raised my head. "We live in Florida! In the USA!"

Jeremie held his hand up, asking for silence. "That's just a piece of the mystery. How is it that you were virtualized into this game? It shouldn't be possible."

Taylor and I shared a look, and she nodded to me. "We don't know how," I said. "We were just messing around when we just appeared in the game, about three or four months ago."

Ulrich gaped. "Months? You've been doing this for months and you still haven't figured it our yet?"

Zane sat up and shook his head. "Nope. We just went with it."

Taylor took over. "It's not like we don't care about what happened to us. Really, if you guys know, then please tell us."

"It's just that we just stopped a major war not two weeks ago. Before that, we haven't had much time to think, let alone figure this out," I said.

Yumi helped me stand. "It doesn't make much sense. Jeremie, what do you think?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I don't know. Let me sleep on it."

"Sleep on it? What about us?" Taylor cried, the same thing running through mine and Zane's minds.

Odd laughed. "I have an idea." The other French kids groaned. "Put the girls in Aelita's room, and him in Jeremie's room," he said, pointing to each of us in turn.

Ulrich nodded. "That solves one problem, but leaves us with two more."

"We have to call our parents…" I murmured.

"And what to do with them tomorrow, while we're in class," Ulrich said, finishing his thought.

Yumi held up her phone. "I have an international plan, for when my dad's back in Japan. He's there now, so two phone calls won't look odd."

I nodded. "I'll tell Dad we're holed up at Aelia's house."

Zane smirked. "Her parents love me. I'll say the same thing."

Two quick phone calls later, we were running through the tunnels leading from where we had woken (the scanner room of an old factory) to their school. We changed the plan a bit – we all slept in their friend Aelita's room. When we saw it was empty, Zane asked where she was. They didn't answer, and we didn't ask again.

There were two beds, so I had one all to myself while Taylor and Zane shared the other.

We barely slept.

* * *

><p>Morning was a welcome relief.<p>

The Kadic boys snuck us some breakfast. We knew it had to last, so we didn't complain.

"Please stay quiet. We don't want a teacher finding you," Jeremie said as they locked us in. We agreed.

We spend the morning trying to read Aelita's books – even after taking French for a year I didn't have much of a clue – and surfing the internet. It was fun, especially reading the stories people posted about the game. Taylor looked as if she wanted to write one, but we quickly nixed that idea.

I sent off a quick email to Aelia, telling her everything. She was the only one besides our group – named the Travelers – that knew about what happened to Dakota and our latest adventures.

Around noon, the boys returned, Yumi in tow. We learned that she was a day student; she lived in town with her parents rather then at the school. We had a quick lunch, just talking about ourselves. We didn't mention the majority of our adventures, and it seemed like they were holding something back as well. They didn't push, so we didn't.

That afternoon, we surfed the net again, this time on the FusionFall Forums. To our shock, there were a lot of threads about being sucked into the game, which kept pushing down the announcement about rebuilding the Cul-de-Sac. The three of us shared a look – this wasn't good.

After Kadic let out, we headed for the factory. We were shocked when the elevator stopped at a laboratory. For kicks, Zane murmured Dexter's old saying. Taylor punched him.

"You asked us where Aelita was," Jeremie said after he sat in his chair and we all crowded around him. He typed a few commands into his computer, and a 3-D map appeared. "We believed that she was here," he gestured to the map, "on Lyoko, a virtual world."

"Never heard of it," I said.

"You wouldn't have. It's only accessible here. Or it was, until the virus controlling it escaped," Yumi muttered.

"Virus? Like the Y2K virus, or Pluto's Kiss?" Zane wondered, thinking of the rumored virus from 2000 and the virus from his favorite video game and anime series, .hack/.

Ulrich nodded. "Yes, but XANA – the virus – is much more destructive. He is trying to kill all the humans on Earth."

"All of us?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," said Jeremie. "He escaped and went into the internet. He took over that game you were playing, FusionFall."

"That must by why all the monsters are acting so strangely, and why we can enter the game," I commented.

"That's what we believe," Jeremie said. "Not only has he taken over that game, but he took Aelita as well."

"Aelita controls Lyoko to a point," Ulrich said before we could ask. "Without her, we are helpless."

"That's why you were asking about the pink-haired girl!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Yes, and-" An alarm cut off Yumi's reply.

Odd ran up to the computer. "Looks like XANA's after Mount Blackhorn," he said, pulling out a cell phone. A moment later, mine buzzed with a new message.

_Mt. Blackhorn under attack. Now. Hurry._

I gasped, but I didn't get the chance to comment. "Head for the scanners!" Jeremie yelled. We followed the French kids. While the elevator was going down, Yumi explained what to do.

After they got in the scanners, the doors shut, then opened. Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi were gone, logged into the game. After a nod, we logged in with them.

After all, it is our job. That's why we are the Travelers.


	16. Chapter 12: A New and Different Year

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:** Back into Taylor's POV. Her head makes more sense to me...

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (03/30/12)

* * *

><p><strong>A New and Different Year<strong>

We appeared in Genius Grove, next to Professor Utonium and Dee Dee.

"So what's the problem?" I asked, taking Zane's hand. I could see, but I still did it.

Yumi pulled up a digital map of the game. "Something is going on… here," she said, pointing to the Suburbs.

"The Cul-de-Sac?" Dakota said, probably for my benefit. I gave her a small smile in thanks. "What's happening there? The Cul-de-Sac was burned down a couple of weeks ago."

"Who knows," Odd exclaimed. "Let's go!"

We followed the Lyoko Warriors as they ran towards the Cul-de-Sac.

* * *

><p>"Gaia! Bella! Blake!"<p>

We had just reached the remains of the Cul-de-Sac. I glanced up and smiled at the owner of the voice.

"Aria Skyler, what are you doing here?" Dakota asked her closest, and sometimes only, friend, Aelia Turner.

"Waiting for you three. Now will you tell me where you were last night? I damn near had a stroke when you called from God-knows-where."

I saw the Lyoko Warriors run up, but they stopped to give us space.

"You know that we were logging in yesterday, right? Well, we pretty much hung out for awhile. We met these kids," Zane said, jerking his thumb behind him at the Warriors, "and got talking. When we all logged out, we ended up in Paris."

Aelia gave us a dumbfounded look. "Bull. Shit. Wonderful story, now tell me the truth."

"They are telling the truth." Ulrich stepped up in front of us. I smirked.

Aelia was doing a good impression of a fish. "That's not possible. It can't be."

Dakota turned to me. I locked eyes with her and nodded. "Aria, it's possible if you're playing the game like we are."

She ran up and started shaking the life out of my sister. "Tell me!"

Zane pulled her off. "We will, tomorrow. You'll need the demonstration to believe us."

"Cool!"

* * *

><p>The Lyoko Warriors logged out about an hour later, claiming that they had homework to do. Dakota retorted that Odd probably never did homework because he didn't seem like the type, which started a giant argument. Zane and Yumi finally got everyone to shut up and on their way.<p>

We waited a bit longer, talking to Aelia, and planning the rest of the summer. According to an email she had just received, the clean-up and rebuilding of the Cul-de-Sac would start next week.

We all agreed to help, and I figured that the Warriors wouldn't have a problem. I emailed Jeremie, and he agreed.

That night, we logged out at home. Taylor and I got lucky; Dad was working an extra shift. We were able to claim that we had gotten home a few hours before, and just forgot to call him. Zane called his mom and said that he had been hanging out with us all day. None of us got into trouble, so we got lucky.

* * *

><p>The summer breezed by after our little mishap.<p>

Everyday, we would meet the Warriors in Genius Grove. Usually we would just hang out. When construction started, we started work there. While we did that, we swapped stories, all about our lives and adventures.

Every once in a while, Zane and I would see Dakota and Odd sneaking off. I got a kick out of it. Dakota hadn't forgiven Odd for not telling her that he was the one who had been texting her for so long. Likewise, Odd still hadn't told anyone about why he chose her to be his contact.

Slowly but surly the Cul-de-Sac was rebuilt. Bigger, stronger, and with more cardboard, it dwarfed the original several times over. Everyone who worked on the project was very proud of their work.

Soon, school loomed over us. Our playing time was cut short so that we could finish summer homework and get class schedules.

Zane and I shared our classes again, which was a surprise. Dakota had a good line up, and Aelia's was all that bad either.

The Warriors were full of questions about American schools, which we were happy to answer. They seemed genuinely curious, so we didn't mind. Besides, the questions kept their minds off of Aelita's continued absence.

The eve of school starting, Zane and I were hanging out in my room, looking at the stars. We were sitting on my window sill, me in Zane's arms. My iPod across the room was playing "Right Here, Right Now" from High School Musical 3 in the background. The only reason I liked it was because it sorta represented us.

"This year is going to be different, right?" I asked. "More fights, more questions."

"And most likely, another battle," he said.

I started playing with my ring on the chain around my neck, the one he gave me right before the Battle for Sector V. "But we won't change, right?"

"You're not going to loose me, Taylor. I don't care what happens this year. You and I will stay the same."

"Good."

* * *

><p>The next morning, in our first period English class, things started changing.<p>

"Class," our teacher said. I hadn't caught her name yet. "This year we will be playing host to a group of children from a boarding school in Paris, France. Please help them feel welcome."

And in walked Jeremie, Odd, and Ulrich.

"And my world crashes down," I said to Zane. His look told me everything.

No, this year was going to be different. Wonderful.


	17. Chapter 13: Vanishing Acts

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:** I forgot this was such a short chapter. Sorry guys, I don't have the time, the energy, or the mental want to edit this and make it longer. I feel like crap today, and the day's not over yet.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (04/02/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Vanishing Acts<strong>

Our little school was playing host to a group of students from Kadic Junior High in France. Nothing wrong there. Just the fact that we know a few of the kids. Yeah, this year will be fun.

"So, so far we share all of one class with any of the Warriors," I said at lunch. I was sitting with Zane, Dakota and Aelia, who had pretty much become the fourth member of the Travelers. "This is getting good."

"More like more insane," Zane growled. "I was hoping for an uneventful first day of school. Is that too much to ask?"

"We practically live in a video game, Zane," Dakota deadpanned. "Yes, normal is too much to ask for."

"Damn."

I let out a sigh and glanced around. It would seem that the Kadic kids had stayed inside the lunchroom instead of eating outside like us. I wasn't surprised. When we were in France, I noticed that they only ate indoors.

"You know," Zane started. "I was wondering something. They didn't recognize us. Have we really changed all that much?"

I shook my head. "Um, no. Not at all."

"Maybe they're overwhelmed about this exchange program that they didn't notice you guys yet?" Aelia suggested.

"No, Jeremie would have noticed," Dakota said. "He's too detail-oriented."

"Well, whatever the reason, I suggest re-introducing ourselves after lunch," I said. Everyone agreed.

We wouldn't get the chance.

Shouts came from the library. Students poured out of the cafeteria.

We traded looks and ran for the library. I had a bad feeling.

* * *

><p>Bad feeling didn't begin to describe it. Oh, no. It was far off.<p>

Three Players from our school were gone.

According to their friends, they had been on the internet, looking up information about FusionFall. There was this big flash of light, and they vanished. Kinda like what happens to us.

Only, we log into the game. They're nowhere to be found, either inside or out.

"This is getting creepy," Zane groaned later that night. We were camped out in my room. Because of what happened, he was allowed to spend the night at our house, provided that he sleep on the floor. It didn't matter, since sleeping was doubtful.

"Of course this is getting creepy," Aelia griped. We had her on speakerphone. "First the kids from Paris, now Players from our school are vanishing?"

"This has gone beyond creepy, and straight into the realm of just plain wrong," Dakota deadpanned.

"Discussing how creepy this is will not help them out. We need to find them, and fast. Aelia, can you do a search? See if this is happening anywhere else. Meet us near Ben, alright?" She said yes and hung up. I turned to my sister and boyfriend. "We're going in. We need to see what's happening on the inside. Let's play."

In a flash, we all logged in.

* * *

><p>Our luck really sucked.<p>

It wasn't just these Players that had that vanished. It was happening to Players all around the world.

Aelia informed us that most of the messages on the forum were on this topic, which made us groan.

If this continued, the game could be shut down.

And if that happened, then the whole internet would be in jeopardy.

I turned to Dakota. "Log out and call the Lyoko Warriors. They need to know this."

She nodded. "Alright, but we all log out together. I'm not about to lose any of you."

We listened.


	18. Chapter 14: Major Problems

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N:** This is the _one_chapter that I'm worried about. Actually, this is the only one that I'm totally sure I'll get yelled at for...

Well, a girl can dream, right? XD

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (04/06/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Major Problems<strong>

"We have to work together."

Jeremie's words were found with remarks of "duh" and "we got that, genius." He growled.

"I did a diagnostic on the coding of FusionFall. Something is in there, but I can't find it."

"XANA is controlling the very systems of FusionFall," I said. Everyone turned to me. "Aelia's at her house monitoring the message boards. Anyone connected to the game is at risk."

We were crowded into my room. Zane and I were on my bed, my laptop flashing in front of us. Dakota was leaning on the wall right next to us. Jeremie was in my desk chair, facing us. Odd was sitting on my desk. Yumi and Ulrich were sitting on my windowsill.

"If the game shuts down, he'll be released into the internet again," Ulrich growled.

"And then more people will get hurt," Dakota spat.

"We have got to stop this," Zane yelled, slamming his fist into the bed.

"But how?" Yumi said. "How can we stop this? Is it even possible?"

Another message from Aelia popped up on my screen. _Another bunch of Players from our school are gone. It's getting worse. Tay, what are we going to do?_I read off in a monotone, stopping the fighting.

I rose my eyes from the screen and whispered, "What now?"

Silence was my answer.

* * *

><p>The Warriors left an hour later, as we were burning the midnight oil, so to speak. Dakota slipped off to her room, saying that she wished it was a weekend. Zane and I didn't move.<p>

"Seven Players are gone," he murmured, pulling me close.

"I'm afraid," I whispered. "What if we're next?"

I felt him shake his head. "We won't be. You have to believe that."

"I want to believe, but…"

Zane just held me tighter and pushed my head towards his. His kiss was soft, reassuring me that we would be fine.

I kicked the wall to turn off the lights, and let him pull me closer…

* * *

><p>Dakota knocked on my door at five in the morning. We were to meet the rest of our friends and the Warriors at six.<p>

"You two up?" she called.

I threw open the door, covered in a hastily-grabbed tank top and shorts from my dresser. Zane was still asleep in my bed.

"We're up! Go away!" I slammed the door in her face. I went back to the bed and leaned over Zane.

He peaked an eye open. "What a way to wake up. Can I sleep over often?"

I giggled. "Whenever you can convince my dad. I promise." I gave him a kiss. "Come on, get up. We're meeting the others."

He let out a groan, but pushed himself up. I blushed. "I'm gonna go change," I whispered, averting my eyes.

He just grinned.

* * *

><p>We met up with the others right at six. No one was any closer to discovering the key to stopping XANA.<p>

I shared a glance with Zane. He nodded.

"I have an idea," he said. Everyone turned to him. "We attack him head on."

Dakota gulped and leaned closer to Odd. Jeremie nodded, looking down. Yumi and Ulrich sighed and nodded in agreement.

"We have to take this fight straight to Fuse and XANA," I said. "Let's do it now, when they won't be expecting it. With so many Players leaving or vanishing, no one would expect us going in."

Both teams agreed.

We had our plan. Now just to survive it.


	19. Chapter 15: Time to Tell the World!

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **I'm tossing this up while arguing with Mit! Oh wait, what else is new.

Oh, and the next chapter might post early or late. I have massive amounts of homework and that usually screws my schedule.

(Mit's trying to troll. He sucks at it.)

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (04/09/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Time to Tell the World!<strong>

That day was not without tragedy. Every Player in our town, minus the Warriors and Aelia, were gone. Trapped in the game.

Because of the disappearances, an immediate town meeting was called. It's subject? Where were the missing kids, and what caused this.

Dad made Dakota and I go with him. Zane was there with his mom, and Aelia with her parents. We all sat together, listening to everyone come up with ideas like serial killers and aliens.

I spotted the Warriors. They gave me a nod. We all knew what it meant. Whether we liked it or not, everyone needed to know what was happening. Even if that meant telling our families about the game.

Zane, Dakota, and I stood. No one was paying attention, even when Zane cleared his throat. I finally gave up and shouted, "I know where they are!"

Silence filled the hall. Dakota gave a silent prayer.

The mayor looked at us strangely and growled, "Well, where are they?"

"They're inside a game. FusionFall," Zane said.

Everyone broke into hysterical laughter. Dakota lost her temper.

"Oh sure," she yelled. "You actually are considering crop circles and aliens, but when three teens bring _evidence_to back up their claims, you laugh! What the hell is wrong with you people!"

"Dakota McKenzie! Watch your language!" Dad growled, but she paid him no mind.

"You are freaking morons! They are trapped inside the game! We should know! It's possible!"

"No it's not!" a woman from up front yelled. "You children are obviously delusional!"

_Mrs. Kingston, of course_, I growled in my mind.

"We can prove it, you know!" Zane said, pulling out my laptop. And in front of an entire audience, he logged in and vanished.

Everyone screamed. His mother fainted.

Not even a minute later, he logged out and reappeared. I shook my head as the screams began again.

"Nice Zane," I said, smiling. "I think you gave your mother a heart attack, though."

Finally the mayor restored order. "How is that possible?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "We're not entirely sure. When this all started seven months ago, we thought we were the only ones that could go into the game like that. Two months ago, we discovered that other kids could do it, too."

"It's not something that we chose," Dakota continued for me. "It just happened to us. It was really scary at first, to be able to see the monsters in the game up close" – I coughed – "but we went with it."

"But right know, we don't know where they are, exactly," said Zane. "Over the past few days, we have searched every corner of the game looking for them, except for one place. That's where we're heading to tonight."

Aelia stood and took over. "We want our friends back just as much as you want your family members back. And we going to do what ever it takes to get them back."

Silence filled the room, before it was full of clapping. Dad was shaking his head. Aelia's mom sighed.

* * *

><p>"You will not be touching your computers until the children are found!"<p>

We were in my living room. Dakota, Zane and I were on the couch, facing Dad and his mom. They were both livid that we would "stand up and lie to the entire community. They were so embarrassed…"

"But Dad!" Dakota cried.

"No. I will not loose you like I lost your mother," Dad said in his "that is final" voice.

"Mom, please!" Zane tried.

His mother shook her head. "No Zane. Not this time."

* * *

><p>Lucky for us, Zane could stay over again that night. With all the excitement, and horror, of the day, Dad forgot to forbid it.<p>

At midnight, Dakota was locked in her room, crying on the phone with Odd. It seemed as if the Warriors were going to go in whether we joined them or not. We understood. We needed our friends back.

Zane and I were once again on my bed. Zane held me tightly as I silently cried, thinking of our friends.

"Zane, I can't just sit here and do nothing."

"I know," he said, moving to get up. "Your Dad's asleep now, right?"

I paused. "Yeah. Why?"

He gave me a wicked smirk. "Grab Dakota," he said, pulling his laptop from his bag. I didn't even know he had it with him. Mine and Dakota's were taken as soon as we got home. "We're going in!"

"Zane. You rock," I said, giving him a hug and a long kiss before running for Dakota.

* * *

><p>Dad walked into my room at two in the morning. All he saw was three letters laying in front of a flashing laptop.<p>

And one was addressed to him.


	20. Interlude 04: Letters

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Yeah, Zane sucks at writing letters. He really sucks.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (04/13/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Interlude: Letters<strong>

Dear Dad,

This is probably the one thing you've never expected for either me or Taylor. Sorry, but we really don't have a choice right now.

The FusionFall world, a world we care about, is being destroyed. We have to stop it. Plus, we have to save our friends.

Please understand that we're sorry. We never wanted it to come to this. Ground us if you want. We'll take it.

Wish us luck. Please.

Love,

Dakota

* * *

><p>Mom,<p>

I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I can't lose my new friends, and I can't lose Taylor.

Keep strong.

Zane

* * *

><p>Dad,<p>

I love you. More than you know. Give me luck, so that we'll come back to you.

We've made so many sacrifices since this began. Now we have the biggest one. I'm scared, but I know that this is something I have to do.

Give me strength, and hope.

Love always,

Taylor

* * *

><p>Odd,<p>

Keep this, just in case.

I love you. Remember that.

Dakota

* * *

><p>Zane,<p>

I guess this isn't what Dakota meant by "leave a message for a loved one." Hell, I know it wasn't. But I can't help it. I have to write this.

There's a strong possibility that we might die today. I'm scared of it, but then again I'm not. It's an odd feeling, being stuck between fear and bravery. On one hand I want to scream. The other, I want to fight.

I wanted you to have something, something written by me, just in case. I have no idea what will happen next, but I hope we come home together. I really do.

Zane, keep strong for me, okay?

With all my heart and more, I love you.

Taylor

* * *

><p>Taylor,<p>

Keep strong!

Love you more!

Zane


	21. Chapter 16: To Save and Fight

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **I am SO sorry for the wait for these chapters. I got _really_ sick, and then I had finals. So, to make up for it, I'm posting two chapters today, and two over the weekend. Monday I'll be caught up.

Thanks for understanding.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (04/27/12)

* * *

><p><strong>To Save and Fight<strong>

Fuse's Lair was humongous.

That was the only thing going through my mind when I finally laid my eyes on it.

Well, that and the fact that I could hear the voices of all the missing Players, calling for help from deep within.

I shared a look with Zane. He glanced at Dakota. She smiled at Aelia, and Aelia nodded at me.

The Travelers were going in. The Warriors had already started the battle. They were just waiting for us to join them.

And thus we did.

* * *

><p>We caught up to the Warriors.<p>

"Odd!" Dakota shouted, running up to him. The boy in question turned with a big smile on his face.

"Hey there Princess Bells. What took you so long?"

"We had to wait for Dad to fall asleep before we could sneak on," I said as the rest of us walked up.

"So what's the situation?" Zane asked.

Ulrich took charge. "Fuse and XANA are on the top floor. The prisoners are on the bottom. We're gonna have to split into two groups."

"Warriors up, Travelers down," Aelia said. Everyone agreed.

We split up.

* * *

><p>Imagine a long, winding staircase. Now triple the length.<p>

It took us about an hour to get from the castle doors to the bottom of the staircase. Along the way we had to fight off Fuse's minions and even some of the Lyoko monsters.

By the time we reached the bottom, my vision had faded in and out no less then ten times, with was so annoying.

With our feet firmly on the ground, we started to explore the dungeons. Only a minute later, we heard shouts in about six different languages, all asking for one thing. Help.

Zane and I led the way over to the shouts. Sure enough, we found nearly two hundred people trapped in their Player forms, unable to escape. Dakota ran up and started picking the locks while Zane and I shot them off.

Within ten minutes, we were running back up the stairs, our friends with us this time. They had already decided that when they were freed, they would help whoever saved them take down Fuse. Who were we to stop them?

The throne room was long and large, we discovered as we ran in. The Warriors were fighting off a giant bug-like creature – XANA, Dakota suspected.

Behind that thing was Fuse. With a nod to our friends, we ran passed them and opened fire upon Fuse. He wasn't too pleased with us attacking him. Not that we cared.

"Gaia! Duck!" Dakota shouted. I did immediately. Fuse's hand passed over me.

"What the hell! Was he trying to smack me?" I screamed. Zane joined me and laughed.

"Of course. He's pissed. Let's just shoot the son of a bitch and be done with him."

"Okay."

And so we did. We unloaded every bullet we had at Fuse, and we got lucky.

After three hours of battle, Fuse let out a mighty shout, then keeled over and vanished. Behind us, I could here XANA doing the same thing, but he was being deleted by Jeremie.

With a sigh, we all relaxed. Fuse and XANA were gone.

We were safe, for now.

* * *

><p>Dad was downstairs, holding Dakota's letter in his hand. Next to him was Zane's mom, clenching his tightly.<p>

"Why would they do this?" she cried. "Why would they put themselves in such danger?"

Dad only shook his head. He didn't have an answer.

* * *

><p>We all logged out.<p>

Dakota let out a long yawn when here feet touched the ground. "How long were we in there?" she asked.

I glanced at the clock. "Ten hours, give or take."

Zane groaned. "The letters are gone. Your dad must have found them."

Dakota nodded. "Hang on, I hear voices, coming from downstairs!"

We all crept down the steps, and spotted Dad and Zane's mom. I gave a nod, and we walked into their view.

"Zane!" his mother screamed, practically tackling him into a hug.

"Mom!" he whined. "Not in front of Taylor!"

Dad stood in front of us. "Are the other children alive?" We nodded. "Was anyone hurt?" We shook our heads. "Good," he said, and pulled us into a three-way hug.

We stayed that way for a long while. After all, we were content. We had helped save the world. We were allowed to relax once in a while.


	22. Chapter 17: Until We Meet Again

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Dakota's point of view here. Have fun with this.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (04/27/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Until We Meet Again<strong>

Surprisingly, the rest of the school year went by quickly. No major incidents, no one going missing, and nothing took over the game. It was actually quite boring, now that I think about it.

I had a giant fifteenth birthday party in October. I got a lot of really nice presents, which made me really happy. I think the best present I got, however, was the promise ring from Odd. Dad wasn't in the room for that one, so I was lucky.

In May, Taylor and Zane had a joint eighteenth birthday party, since their birthdays are so close. Really, the only people that were there were the Travelers and Warriors. We spent the night eating cake and watching reruns of _CSI: New York_, which has become our favorite show.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.

The first day of summer break was supposed to be happy, but the Warriors were heading back to Paris. We had to say goodbye.

We stood outside the terminal, as far as we could go without tickets. Everyone hugged each other, giving tearful goodbyes. We exchanged emails and phone numbers, even though we already had them.

"Flight 432 to Paris, France, now boarding!"

I gave a half smile. "I guess this is it. Until the next crisis."

Jeremie nodded. "Either that, or you guys could just visit us."

Taylor smiled. "We might just take you up on that offer."

Odd gave me a goodbye kiss. "Until then, Princess," he whispered into my ear. I shivered.

They all waved, and ran for their plane. The four of us were left standing there, feeling as if we just lost a piece of our family.

* * *

><p>Aelia had to head home for dinner, so it was just Zane, Taylor, and I in her bedroom, discussing summer plans.<p>

"I want to play for fun," Taylor said.

Zane nodded. "Let's! We haven't played in ages, anyways. I want to try out the new hover boards!"

I nodded. "Then let's play!"

We logged in.

* * *

><p>It felt nostalgic to be playing FusionFall again. There were no giant armies wiping out Players. It was just good, clean fun.<p>

We explored the Suburbs again, discovering all the little hidden Easter eggs we never found before. Like a cave inside one of the mountains.

"Whoa!" I shouted as I hit the bottom. I had fallen into a cave, a small one. I was alone, except for a sleeping girl. One that looked familiar.

Over the group chat, I called to my sister. "What did the Warriors' missing friend look like?"

She quickly answered back. "All I remember is pink hair. Why?"

I smirked. "Because I just found Aelita. I guess we're going to see the Warriors sooner than we anticipated!"

I walked over to the prone girl and shook her shoulder. She stirred.

"What… where am I… Jeremie?" She sat up in alarm, looking around wildly.

"Whoa, hang on! Jeremie's not here, but I can take you to him."

She focused on me in confusion. "Who are you?"

I smiled. "My name is Bella Dragonblazer. I'm Odd's girlfriend. I can take you to where they are."

She nodded. I pulled her to her feet, before I warped us to Taylor and Zane. From there, we logged out, in Paris.

* * *

><p>"I'm gonna miss America," Odd said, as everyone crowded around Jeremie's computer.<p>

Yumi laughed. "No, you're just going to miss Dakota."

Jeremie gave a sad smile before focusing on the screen. "Guys! Something is devirtalizing in the scanners!"

They all shared a panicked look, before they all ran for the elevator.

* * *

><p>"Have I mentioned how much I hate logging out here?" Taylor muttered as the doors opened. Zane laughed and I rolled my eyes.<p>

We all stepped out of the scanners and waited as Aelita devirtalized. She practically fell from the scanner, but we weren't surprised. She had just spent over a year inside a game, after being free for so long.

The elevator door opened. I turned with a big grin on my face. "Jeremie! I have a late birthday present for you!"

"Dakota?" Odd said.

They all walked out of the elevator, and we stepped aside.

"Aelita!" Jeremie shouted, running forward and grabbing her into a hug. She clenched his shirt, crying.

I looked at Odd. "So, have a good flight?"


	23. Chapter 18: In Times of Peace

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Zane's point of view. Have fun with this. Sorry for not updating over the weekend.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (05/01/12)

* * *

><p><strong>In Times of Peace<strong>

Two years.

Two years since our world nearly ended, along with the lives of all of our friends.

Two years have passed since I met the love of my life, Taylor McKenzie. Just don't tell her that. She's been taking marksmanship classes. And she's acing it.

Two years have passed since the battle against Fuse and XANA. Since then, Taylor and I have graduated high school. Dakota and Aelia are awaiting their chance at walking across the stage, and getting the hell out of Dodge.

We've been under scrutiny since the town hall meeting. Some people believe that we were the ones who kidnapped all of the Players and sucked them into the game. Yeah, right. Why the hell would we hurt our own friends?

That's why Taylor and I are going out of state to get away from the idiots in our town. I know Dakota and Aelia are planning to join us once they've graduated.

We haven't played Fusion Fall in months. We've been taking the SATs and ACTs and studying for our high school exams. Dakota has kept in contact with Odd and the Warriors, which we love.

Taylor has conveniently not told her father that the apartment that she's moving into at Chelsea University would be shared with me. He just might flip.

"Zane! Are you packed yet?" Mom called from downstairs.

"I'm nearly done!" I shouted back.

Today's the day that we begin the move to the apartment. We're meeting Taylor at her house to load up my new truck, because the two of us are going to drive to New York City. Everyone else is flying up to help finish unpacking.

This ought to be fun.

* * *

><p>"Zane!"<p>

I looked up as I climbed out of my truck. Taylor stood in the doorway of her house, waiting for me.

"Hey Taylor!" I called back.

She ran down to the car and hugged me. "Odd emailed. Something's going on inside the internet." She looked troubled.

"Fuse? Or XANA?"

She shook her head. "No, someone else. Someone new, I think."

I nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Dakota was in Taylor's room, holding her sister's laptop on top of a box. "Aelia's on speaker phone," she said as a greeting. "Odd sent me a video link. Something's happening online. Something new and different."<p>

"Oh?" I said.

"Yeah. Here, watch."

The video showed the world of Fusion Fall being merged with another world. A world that no one had ever seen before.

"What in God's name is that?" Taylor cried. _I guess she didn't bother to watch the video, but instead waited for me_, I thought.

"You won't believe me if I told you," Aelia's voice came from the phone. "Remember that old anime you two were addicted to about five years ago? The one that I refused to watch?"

"What?" Dakota said. "You mean _Digimon_?"

"Yeah. Some of the maps look similar. Either someone is hacking and using maps from the show, or it's the real thing. Either way, Jeremie is saying to be on our toes. They're logging on soon, according to Dakota."

Taylor and I glanced at her sister. "Odd said that they're heading in soon. Probably tonight. You two up for it?"

I looked at Taylor. "You game?"

She laughed. "What do you think. Protecting the people we love is the reason why we created the Travelers. Of course I'm game."

Dakota cocked her head. "What about college?"

"We have two weeks. Don't worry about the timing," I said.

"Then let's go," Taylor said.

Jeremie's face appeared on the screen. "You guys heading in?" he asked.

"Yep. See you all soon!" Dakota said with a thumbs up.

For the first time in two years, we logged into the game with a mission.

And we wouldn't have it any other way.


	24. Chapter 19: Changes

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Back to normal. Damn short chapters. Sorry for not updating over the weekend.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (05/01/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Changes<strong>

"Taylor? I think things have changed."

I looked over at my boyfriend, not really registering what he said. I was in a bit of shock myself.

I didn't look like Gaia, my avatar. Nope, I looked like my normal self, just in different clothes. Instead of the blue t-shirt and shorts I had thrown on this morning, I was wearing a short-sleeved gray shirt, black jeans, a black vest, and black shoes. On my head was a pair of black goggles. On my wrist was a band of some sort.

Zane stood next to me, blinking slowly. His normal outfit was gone, replaced with jeans, a black t-shirt, an orange vest, and sneakers. A pendent was around his neck, and a band was on his wrist, similar to mine, only a different color.

Dakota also looked different. She had been wearing a tank top and shorts. Now she was in a brown and white woven shirt, light blue jeans, and sneakers. Her hair was braided and there was yet another band on her wrist.

Aelia was also in clothing that she didn't own. A teal tank top with a black and white tie, torn black jacket, blue jeans with one knee ripped out, and sneakers was her new outfit. A band was on her wrist.

Dakota took a few steps forward. "Um, guys? I don't think we're in the Suburbs anymore."

We followed her gaze.

The Suburbs as we knew them were gone. I could see the rebuild Cul-de-Sac – who couldn't, when it now towered eight stories tall, and contained a bunch of four and five story buildings inside. Other than that, though, everything was different.

Where the office buildings and houses once had been, thick trees filled their places. The roads were gone, replaced with dirt paths. The biggest difference, though, was the fact that there were no fusions, at all.

"What the hell is going on here?" Zane said, gaping at the sight.

Aelia shook her head. "I don't know. Now I'm glad I told the Warriors to meet us at the Cul-de-Sac. It's the only thing I can see that hasn't changed. I hope."

"Let's head to the Cul-de-Sac. I'll feel better when I'm somewhere safe," I said. Everyone agreed, so we headed out.

* * *

><p>The Cul-de-Sac was crowded, more so than usual. Most of the Fusion Fallers were here, including Dexter, Ben, and June. A lot of Players were here too, milling around.<p>

"Something is definitely going on here," Dakota said. Aelia gave her an annoyed look.

"Yeah? And what was your first clue?"

"Aelia, hush," Zane growled.

I was ignoring them all while I looked for the Warriors. I got lucky and spotted them over the heads of the Eds.

"Aelita!" I shouted over the general bustle of people. The pink haired girl turned and smiled. She turned back to her group, pointing at us.

We waited as they broke through the crowd. Odd Della Robbia was first, bypassing me for Dakota. Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama were next, exchanging hugs with Zane, Aelia, and I. Finally, Aelita pushed through towards us, dragging someone with her. He looked suspiciously like-

"Jeremie?"

* * *

><p>"As you can clearly see, most of the world as we know it is gone," Jeremie Belpois said, gesturing to the holomap we were all surrounding. We were inside one of the small buildings towards the edge of the Cul-de-Sac.<p>

"Yeah, we noticed," Dakota deadpanned. I smacked her upside the head, which earned me a glare.

Zane stopped up before an argument started. "We get that things have changed. Right now, I really don't care. What I would like to know is how are you here and why am I not Blake?"

"From my research, I have discovered that Players now have the ability to switch between their normal forms-" he gestured at us "-to their Player forms. All you have to do is press that button on the band on your wrists."

"Cool," I said. "Now, I thought you said that you would never log on again." A taunting smirk filled my face as I made him remember his actions from yours ago.

He leveled a glare at me. "I logged on only to provide backup to our teams."

"He just wants to be with Aelita," Aelia said in a stage whisper. Dakota punched her in the arm.

One again, Zane took control. "So, what happened? I mean, what's the situation?"

"Grim," the Warriors said gravely.


	25. Chapter 20: Investigations

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Finally caught up! Enjoy.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (05/01/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Investigations<strong>

We spent the rest of the day learning about what had happened since we had left, as well as memorizing the new layout of the world. A lot had changed: the geography was different, and most of the buildings were gone.

Ulrich had compiled a list of some of the creatures that were attacking the Cul-de-Sac. We, that is the Travelers, recognized each one as Champion-level Digimon. Just looking at the list gave me a sick feeling in my stomach.

That night, instead of logging out, we camped out in the little house Jeremie had found. Dad was going to freak, but I had two weeks before school started. We had plenty of time until we would be late. I hope.

Morning dawned bright and early. Zane and I had fallen asleep together on the window seat, right next to the door. The moment the sun hit my eyes, I groaned and sat up a bit. Zane hugged me closer, trying to keep me with him.

"Zane, wake up. It's morning!"

He let out a groan. "Why in hell's name did I have to fall in love with a morning person?"

I pulled away from him and stretched. As I did, I glanced outside. Zane joined me.

"Hey, weren't the gates locked when we went to sleep last night?" He asked.

The gates in question were hanging wide open. From where we could see, there looks as if they were forcefully opened. Along the bottom something was stained.

"Blood," I said.

Zane held his head in his hands. "We are _so_out of our leagues. Damn it," he said, punching the wall next to the window.

* * *

><p>After we woke Dakota to tell her that we were going out, Zane and I walked up to the gates to investigate. We were the first ones there; I guess no one really got up at six in the morning.<p>

"You were right, Tay," Zane said, kneeling down at the gates. "Blood. Hell, I can smell it from here."

I shook my head in defeat. "What happened last night, and why didn't we wake up for it?"

He trailed his hand along some marks in the wood. "Something wanted in, and they weren't going to stop until they got in."

"Zane, there's one problem with that. Someone broke down the gates, sure. Then why didn't they go inside? According to what Jeremie said last night, they've done it before. Why didn't they attack all of us inside?"

He looked at me. "Well then, let's find out." He turned to the path leading away from the town. I nodded at the silent question. We both started for the forest, leaving our friends behind.

* * *

><p>Dakota stood at the window, checking her watch. "They should have been back by now," she said, turning to the group behind her.<p>

"Maybe they got caught up investigating what happened," Aelia said, trying to reason with her best friend.

"No, Taylor would have checked in. Something's wrong."

Dakota moved towards the door, only to be stopped by Odd.

"Don't worry about them. They can take care of themselves, 'Kota," he said.

She shook her head in worry. "I know, but…"

Jeremie nodded. "We'll give them two more hours. If they have not returned or contacted us by then, than we will go and find them."

Dakota reluctantly agreed.

* * *

><p>"Zane?"<p>

He had stopped at the end of a path, staring at something in the distance. He turned his head and held a finger to his lips, to get me to be quiet. I walked up to him, barely able to contain my gasp.

"It seems," he whispered, "that we are dealing with more than Digimon."

I gulped.

Fifty feet away from us, six humans stood. In the middle of them, a holomap of the Cul-de-Sac.

"We are _so _screwed," I said.

All Zane could do was nod.


	26. Chapter 21: Interrogations

**Series Title:** The Saviors Series  
><strong>Author:<strong> Riley Masters  
><strong>Rated:<strong> T  
><strong>Category:<strong> Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, Code Lyoko, Digimon Frontier  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Adventure/Romance  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None  
>Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.<p>

**A/N: **Hurrying to get this up. Kit and I have... planning to do. Mwahaha.

Welcome to my world. It's time to log in.

- Riley Masters (05/04/12)

* * *

><p><strong>Interrogations<strong>

Down below us, a brown haired boy with a cap-and-goggles jerked and turned towards us. _Shit! He heard me!_I screamed in my mind.

"Hey!" he shouted, running towards us. I grabbed Zane's arm and took off back down the path, running for my life.

"If they catch us," I yelled, "we're dead!"

It was all he could do to nod.

"Oh forget this! _Beast Spirit Evolution!_" I heard three people shout from behind us. They were getting closer.

"KendoGarurumon!"

"Zyphermon!"

"BurningGreymon!"

Three Digimon, one human-sized, one about a foot larger, and one that towered, landed hard in front of us. Behind came three humans, all boys, two older and one just a young boy.

"Um… hi?" Zane said tentatively.

We were captured.

* * *

><p>"Two hours," Dakota said, her watch alarm buzzing. "Let's go."<p>

With a groan, Aelia and the Warriors set out with Dakota, all in Player/Lyoko form, to look for Zane and I.

As if they knew where to find us.

* * *

><p>Not twenty minutes later, Zane and I were tied up back to back in the middle of a Digimon camp.<p>

The six kids – five boys and a girl, stood before us, glaring.

"Who the hell do you think you are, spying on us like that?" One of the boys, with a ponytail full of long blue hair, growled. His hands were shoved in his gray pants, and his blue windbreaker was wrinkled over his yellow t-shirt.

"To be truthful, we weren't spying. We were trying to find out who broke the gates to the Cul-de-Sac! Honest!" I said, speaking what Zane wanted to say. The largest boy, wearing a blue and yellow jumpsuit, had fun taping Zane's mouth shut with duct tape.

"Really?" Cap-and-goggles said.

"Really. We woke up to see the gates broken and blood stained on the bottom. We wanted to find out who did it. That's all," I stressed my final word, hoping that I had gotten my point across.

"Why don't I believe you?" the blonde girl said with a roll of her eyes.

I sighed. "Because you have been told one thing, and everything I say is contradicting that. Am I right?"

They paused, thinking over what I said, until the little boy spoke up. "Takuya? What's 'contradicting' mean?"

Cap-and-goggles groaned. "Tomoki…"

All talk stopped seconds later, as a large Digimon stormed into the camp. "Those savages have attacked the Village of Beginnings!"

The six kids turned to us, probably to gauge our reactions. They seemed surprised when they saw the complete shock on our faces.

"We did _what_?" I whispered, horrified. Jeremie had told us of a few places he had managed to gather data on, the Village being one of them. Little Digimon were there, Fresh and Baby Digimon, ones that couldn't fight back.

Ponytail turned back to us, furious. "Oh quit the act! You were the bait so that we wouldn't suspect the attack!"

I shook my head frantically, tears falling from my eyes. "Oh God no! Even if I understood what was happening…" I gasped. "Even if… do you think I, or my boyfriend for that matter, would condone such an act, on defenseless Digimon? I would rather die than be part of an attack such as that!"

Cap-and-goggles – Takuya – blinked. "Kouji, I think she's telling the truth…"

Ponytail – Kouji – leveled a glare at the boy. "You believe this?"

Takuya nodded, along with the little boy, Tomoki. "Yeah. We do."

Kouji threw his hands into the air and stalked off. The girl turned back to us with a sigh.

"Sorry about all this. We have to be careful. We were attacked by some of those people a few weeks ago," she said, helping us out of the ropes. "Oh, I'm Izumi Orimoto."

Takuya held his hand out to pull me up. "I'm Takuya Kanbara. The boy who just left was my boyfriend, Kouji Minomoto. That's his twin brother Kouichi Kimura." He pointed to the boy that hadn't done anything but watch. "This is Tomoki Himi, and that's Junpei Shibayama," he said, pointing at the boy helping Zane up, offering apologies.

"I'm Taylor McKenzie, and that's my boyfriend, Zane Michaels," I said.

"Are you really from that cardboard fortress?" Tomoki asked.

"Technically. We just came to this world yesterday, to be truthful," Zane said. "We really don't understand much about what's going on."

Izumi turned her eyes to the ground, a move that didn't go unnoticed. "About a month ago, when the Digiworld merged with this one, we were drawn in. Only a day later, we were attacked by a girl, who used weapons like those Players."

She handed me a picture of their attacker. My blood ran cold.

"Oh God," Zane whispered, looking over my shoulder.

"Dakota."


End file.
